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e> 

424 

Fe 


UC-NRLF 


B    3    '^ll'^    737 


DE    MUNDO 


BY 


IL.  s.  FoKS'ri':R 


OXFORD 

AT    Till.    (  LARHNDOX    PRKSS 
1914 


OXFORD    UNIVERSITY   PRESS 

LONDON         EDINBURGH         GLASGOW         NEW   YORK 
TORONTO  MELBOURNE  BOMBAY 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD  M.A. 

PUBLISHER  TO  THE   UNIVERSITY 


V\<\-\'M\i 

Tiil>  interesting  litllc  treatise  has  no  cl.iiin  to  he 
rc;4arclccl  as  a  genuine  work  of  Aristotle.  In  his  careful 
exaiuination  of  it  {\t//i-  JalubiicJtcr,  xv  (190-,),  pp.  529  6S) 
Wilhehn  Capclle  has  traced  most  of  its  doctrines  to  I'osei- 
donius,  and  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  a  popular 
philosopjiic  treatise  founded  on  two  works  of  I'oseidonius, 
tlie  M(T(ü>po\oyiKti   (TToi^iuorri'i  and  the  Ilfpi  Kocrfiov. 

The  treatise  is  adihesscd  to  Alexander,  who  must  either 
be  Alexander  the  Great  (in  wliich  case  the  author  iloubtless 
wished  to  have  his  work  attributed  to  Aristotle,  and  there- 
fore addressed  it  to  Aiistotlc's  most  distinguished  pupil), 
or  else  some  other  Alexamler  must  be  intended.  I'^rom 
the  fact  that  he  is  spoken  of  in  391''^  as  ij-yefiovcov  dpiaro^, 
it  has  been  supposed  that  Tiberius  Claudius  Alexander, 
nephew  of  Philo  Judaeus  and  rrocuratt)r  of  Judaea,  and  in 
.■\.  I).  67  Prefect  of  lCg}-pt,  is  intended.  In  this  case  the 
treatise  must  be  dated  earl)-  in  the  second  half  of  the  fust 
century  .\.  D.  Capelle,  however  (1.  c.  p.  '/ij),  dates  it  in  the 
first  half  of  the  second  century  A.  D. 

The  description  of  the  natural  phenomena  of  the  universe 
is  the  most  Aristotelian  poi  tion  of  the  work,  and  many  close 
parallels  arc  to  be  found  in  the  Mcteorologica.  It  has  been 
thought  better  not  to  multiply  references  to  the  Mi-tcoro- 
logica  in  this  part  of  the  treatise,  but  a  certain  number  of 
references  have  been  added  \\\  other  places. 

The  text  used  for  this  translation  is  that  of  liekker  in  the 
l?erlin  edition.  A  complete  account  of  the  literature  upon 
the  Dc  Mundo  will  be  found  in  Capelle's  article  (I.  c.  p.  :)},l). 
I  have  to  thank  Mr.  W.  1).  Ross,  who  read  the  translation 
in  manuscript  and  in  proof,  and  my  colleague,  Professor 
W. (".Summers,  who  re.id  the  greater  part  of  it  in  manuscript, 
b()tl>  of  uhiiu  made  .1  nuinlKT  1  if  v  ihi.d)lr  suggestions. 


\  .  .S    !••. 

IMK    U.NIVERSrrV,    .SlIF.FFIKI.n. 

3: 


ß,..,.,„3.     o;5|c,5J_ 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  Introduction. 


2.  The  elements  of  the  Universe  :  Ether,  Fire  and  Air. 

3.  Earth  and  Sea. 

4.  The  natural  phenomena. 

5.  The  position  of  God  in  the  Universe. 

6.  7.  God  and  His  attributes. 


DE    MTXDO 

I  Many  ;i  time,  Alexander ',  has  Philosophy  seemed  to  ine  391* 
a  thing  truly  divine  and  supernatural,  especially  when  in 
solitude  she  soars  to  the  contcniplation  of  things  universal 
and  strives  to  recognize  the  truth  tiiat  is  in  theni,  and 
while  all  others  abstain  from  the  })ursuit  of  this  truth 
owing  to  its  sublimity  and  vastness,  she  has  not  shrunk  5 
from  the  task  nor  thought  herself  unworthy  of  the  fairest 
pursuits,  but  has  deemed  the  knowledge  of  such  things  at 
once  most  natural  to  herself  and  most  fitting.  I'or  seeing 
that  it  was  not  possible  (as  once  the  foolish  Aloadae  * 
attempted)  by  means  of  the  body  to  reach  the  heavenly 
region  and  leaving  the  earth  behind  to  spy  out  that  lo 
heavenly  country,  the  soul  by  means  of  philosophy,  taking 
the  intellect  as  her  guide,  finding  an  cas}'  path  has  tra- 
versed the  intervening  space  and  fared  forth  on  its  pilgrim- 
age, and  by  intelligence  comprehended  things  very  far 
removed  in  space  from  one  another,  easil)-,  methinks, 
recognizing  those  things  which  ha\e  kinship  with  one 
another,  and  by  the  divine  eye  of  the  soul  apprehending  15 
things  divine  and  interpreting  them  to  mankind.  This 
she  felt,  being  desirous,  as  far  as  in  her  hi}-,  freely  to  give 
to  all  men  a  share  of  her  treasures.  And  so  men  who 
have  laboriously  described  to  us  either  the  nature  of  a 
single  region  or  the  plan  of  a  single  city  or  the  dimensions 
of  a  river  or  the  scenery  of  a  mountain,  as  some  ere  now  20 
have  done, — telling  of  Ossa  or  \)'sa  or  the  Corycian 
cave  ^  or  giving  us  some  other  limited  description, — such 
men  one  should  pity  for  their  small-mindedness  in  admir- 
ing ordinary  things  and  making  much  of  some  quite 
insignificant  spectacle.  They  arc  thus  afifected  because  they 
have    never   contempl.ited    what    is    nobler — the    Universe  ts 

'  .Sec  preface.  *  Otus  and  Lphialics.  '  I'aus.  x.  32.  2. 

*».    u.M.  B 


391^  DE    MUNDO 

and  the  greatest  things  of  the  Universe ;  for  if  they 
had  really  given  attention  to  these  things,  they  would 
391^  never  marvel  at  anything  else,  but  all  else  would  appear 
insignificant  and,  compared  to  the  surpassing  excellence 
of  those  other  things,  of  no  account.  Let  us  therefore 
treat  of  all  these  matters  and,  as  far  as  possible,  inquire 
into  their  divine  nature,  and  discuss  the  nature  and  position 
5  and  movement  of  each  of  them.  And  I  think  that  it  is 
but  fitting  that  even  you,  who  are  the  noblest  of  rulers, 
should  pursue  the  inquiry  into  the  greatest  of  all  subjects 
and  in  philosophy  entertain  no  trivial  thoughts,  and  make 
the  noblest  among  men  welcome  to  these  only  of  her  gifts. 

The  Universe  then  is  a  system  made  up  of  heaven  and  2 

10  earth  and  the  elements  which  are  contained  in  them.  But 
the  word  is  also  used  in  another  sense  of  the  ordering 
and  arrangement  of  all  things,  preserved  by  and  through 
God.-^  Of  this  Universe  the  centre,  which  is  immovable 
and  fixed,  is  occupied  by  the  life-bearing  earth,  the  home 
and  the  mother  of  diverse  creatures.     The  upper  portion 

15  of  the  Universe  has  fixed  bounds  on  every  side,  the  highest 
part  of  it  being  called  Heaven,  the  abode  of  the  gods. 
Heaven  is  full  of  divine  bodies,  which  we  usually  call 
stars,  and  moves  with  a  continual  motion  in  one  orbit,  and 
revolves  in  stately  measure  with  all  the  heavenly  bodies 
unceasingly  for  ever.    The  whole  heaven  and  universe  being 

20  spherical  and  moving,  as  I  have  said,  continually,  there 
must  of  necessity  be  two  points  which  do  not  move,  exactly 
opposite  to  one  another  (as  in  the  revolving  wheel  of 
a  turner's  lathe),  points  which  remain  fixed  and  hold  the 
sphere  together  and  round  which  the  whole  universe  moves. 
The  universe  therefore  revolves  in  a  circle  and  the  points 

25  are  called  poles.     If  we  imagine  a  straight  line  drawn  so 

as  to  join  them  (the  axis,  as  it  is  sometimes  called),  it  will 

form  the  diameter  of  the  Universe,  occupying  the  centre 

392*  of  the  earth,  with  the  two  poles  as   its    extremities.     Of 

^  Reading  with  W.  Capelle,  Neite  Jahrb.  xv  (1905),  p.  535,  'vno  Qiov 
Kai  dia  deny :  Bekker's  reading,  vno  dfäv  re  kuI  8iä  Öecöv,  contradicts  the 
pantheistic  character  of  the  treatise.     R  reads  dia  deaf,  O  diä  deov. 


CIIAITI-.R  2  392' 

these  fixed  poles  the  one  is  always  visible,  being  at  the 
summit  of  the  axis  in  the  northern  region  of  the  sky,  and 
is  called  the  Arctic  Pole*;  the  other  is  always  hidden 
beneath  the  earth  to  the  south  and  is  called  the  Antarctic 
Pole. 

The  substance  of  the  heaven  and  stars  we  call  lühcr,-  5 
not   because  it  blazes,  owing  to  its  fiery  nature  (as  some 
explain  the  word,  mistaking  its  nature,  which  is  very  far 
removed  from  tue),  but  because  it  is  in  continual  nu)ti<)U,^ 
revolving  in  a  circle,  being  an  clement  other  than  tlv  four 
indestructible   and    divine.     Of  the   stars   which   arc  con- 
tained  in   it,  those  called   'fixed'  revolve  only  with   the  10 
whole   heaven,  always  occupying  the  same  positions.     A 
belt  is  formed  through  their  midst  by  the  so-called  Circle 
of  the  Zodiac,  which  passes  crosswise  through  the  tropics, 
being  divided  up  into  the  twelve  regions  of  the  Signs  of 
the    Zodiac.     Others,   which  are  called   'planets',  do   not 
naturall)'  move  with  the  same  velocity  as  those  stars   of 
which   I   have  already  spoken,  nor  with  the  same  velocity  15 
as  one  another,  but  each  in  a  different  course,  so  that  one 
will  be  nearer  the  earth,  another  higher  in  the  heavens. 
Now  the  number  of  the  fixed  stars  cannot  be  ascertained 
by  man,  although  they  move  in  one  surface,  which  is  that 
of  the    whole   heaven.      But   the    planets   fall    into   seven 
ilivi-sions  in  seven  successive  circles,  so  situated  that   the  20 
higher  is  always  greater  than  the  lower,  and  the  seven  circles 
are  successively  encompassed  by  one  another  and  arc  all 
surrounded  by  the  sphere  containing  the  fixed  stars.     The 
position  nearest  to  this  sphere  is  occupied  by  the  so-called 
circle  of  the  '  Shining  star  ',  or  Cronos;  next  is  that  of  the 
'Beaming  star',  which  also  bears  the  name  of  Zeus  ;  then 
lollows  the  circle  of  the  '  Fiery  star',  called  by  the  names  ^5 
both  of  Heracles  and  of  Ares  ;  next  comes  the  *  Glistening 
star ',   which   some  call   sacred  to   I  fermcs,  others  sacred 

*  'Arctic 'and  '  .Ant.^rctic'  arc  nul  Aristotelian  terms;  cp.  Meteor. 
36a» 32,  33.  363*34, ''4.  3'. 

*  Cp.  Mttior.  339«'  igff. 

'  i.e.  aldffi,  'ether',  is  here  derived  not  from  tn()t,tÖai,  'to  blaze  ',  but 
from  <i»l  <?««»,  'to  be  in  continual  motion';  cp.  Plat.  Cm/.  410 B,  and 
Je  Ciuio  270''  22. 


392' 


DE   MUNDO 


to  Apollo  ;  after  that  is  the  circle  of  the  '  Light-bearing 
star',  which  some  call  the  star  of  Aphrodite,  others  the 
star  of  Hera  ;  then  comes  the  circle  of  the  Sun,  and  lastly 
that  of  the  Moon,  which  borders  on  the  Earth.     The  ether 

30  encompasses  the  heavenly  bodies  and  the  area  over  which 
they  are  ordained  to  move. 

After  the  Ethereal  and  Divine  Element,  which  we  have 
shown  to  be  governed  by  fixed  laws  and  to  be.  moreover, 
free  from  disturbance,  change,  and  external  influence,  there 
follows  immediately  an  element  which  is  subject  through- 
out to  external  influence  and  disturbance  and  is.  in  a  word. 

35  corruptible  and  perishable.  In  the  outer  portion  of  this 
occurs  the  substance  which  is  made  up  of  small  particles 
392^^  and  is  fier}',  being  kindled  by  the  ethereal  element  owing 
to  its  superior  size  and  the  rapidity  of  its  movement.  In 
this  so-called  Fiery  and  Disordered  Element  flashes  shoot 
and  fires  dart,  and  so-called  '  beams  '  ^  and  '  pits '  -  and 
comets  have  their  fixed  position  and  often  become  extin- 
5  guished. 

Next  beneath  this  spreads  the  air,  which  is  in  its  nature 
murky  and  cold  as  ice.  but  becomes  illuminated  and  set 
on  fire  by  motion,^  and  thus  grows  brighter  and  warm. 
And  since  the  air  too  admits  of  influence  and  undergoes 

10  every  kind  of  change,  clouds  form  in  it.  rain-storms  beat 
down,  and  snow,  hoar-frost,  hail  with  blasts  of  winds  and 
of  hurricanes,  and  thunder  too  and  lightning  and  falling 
bolts,  and  the  crashing  together  of  countless  opaque  bodies. 

Next  to  the  aerial  element  the  earth  and  sea  have  3 
15  their  fixed  position,  teeming  with  plant  and  animal  life, 
and  fountains  and  rivers,  either  winding  over  the  earth  or 
discharging  their  waters  into  the  sea.  The  earth  is  diver- 
sified by  countless  kinds  of  verdure  and  lofty  mountains 
and  densely  wooded  copses  and  cities,  which  that  intelli- 
gent   animal    man    has    founded,  and    islands  set   in   the 

*  tfabes  of  Seneca,  Quaest.  Nat.  i.  i.  5.  vii.  4.  3,  Epp.  94.  56 ;  Plin.  ii. 
26.  26. 

*  Cp.  Seneca.  Quaest.  Nat.  i,  14.  i. 

'  Q  reads  eKfinjs  for  Kin^a-fas :  Capelle,  /.c.,p.  536,  adopts  e'<etV»;r, 
but  cp.  above,  1.  2. 


CHAPTER  3  39a* 

sea  and  continents.  Now  the  usual  account  divides  the  20 
inhabited  world  into  islands  and  continents,  ignoring  the 
fact  that  the  whole  of  it  forms  a  single  i>land  round  which 
the  sea  that  is  called  Atlantic  flows.  But  it  is  probable 
:hat  there  are  many  other  continents  separated  from  ours 
by  a  sea  that  we  must  cross  to  reach  them,  some  larger  and 
•thers  smaller  than  it,  but  all,  save  our  own,  invisible  to 

'  as  our  islands  are  in  relation  to  our  seas,  so  is  ^5 
ibiicd  world  in    relation   to  the  Atlantic,  and   so 
arc  many  other  continents  in  relation  to  the  whole  sea; 
for  they  are  as   it  were  immense  islands  surrounded  by 
immense  seas.     The  general  element  of  moisture,  covering 
the  earths  surface   and  allowing   the  so-called  inhabited  30 
countries  to  rise  in  patches  as  it  were  of  drj'  land,   may 
be  said  to  come  immediately  after  the  aerial  element.  Xext 
to  it  the  whole  earth  has  been  formed,  firmly  fi.xed  in  the 
lowest  position  at  the   midmost  centre  of  the    Universe, 
closely   compacted,    immovable   and    unshakable.      This ' 
forms  the  whole  of  what  we  call  the  lower  portion  of  the  35 
Universe. 

Thus  then  five  elements,  situated  in  spheres  in  five  393" 
regions,-  the  less  being  in  each  case  surrounded  by  the 
greater — namely,  earth  surrounded  by  water,  water  by 
air,  air  by  fire,  and  fire  by  ether — make  up  the  whole 
Universe.  All  the  upper  portion  represents  the  dwelling 
of  the  gods,  the  luwer  the  abode  of  mortal  creatures.  Of  5 
the  latter,  part  is  moist,  to  which  we  are  accustomed  to  give 
the  names  of  rivers,  springs,  and  seas;  while  part  is  dry, 
which  we  call  larvd  and  continents  and  islands. 

Of  the  islands,  some  arc  large,  like  the  whole  of  what  we 
call  the  irhri'i'tc'!  at!!  ar.d  there  are  many  other  such  10 
-urro  intic'i  hy  rr.i^r.ty  >ca-i;  other  islands  arc  smaller, 
which  are  visible  to  us  and  in  our  own  sea.  Of  these 
-omc  arc  of  considerable  size,  Sicily,  Sardinia,  Corsica, 
Crete,  Kuboca,  Cyprus,  and  Ixsbos  ;  others  arc  less  ex- 
tensive, such  as  the  Sporades  and  Cyclades  and  others  15 
bearing  various  names. 

.\gain,  the  sea  which  lies  outside  the  inhabited  world 

'  i.  e.  the  earth  and  sea.  »  Cp.  Sfeiecr.  540*  19  ff.,  341*  2  ff. 


393*  DE   MUNDO 

is  called  the  Atlantic  or  Ocean,  flowing  round  us.  Open- 
ing in  a  narrow  passage  towards  the  West,  at  the  so-called 
I'illars  of  Heracles,  the  Ocean  forms  a  current  into  the 

20  inner  sea,  as  into  a  harbour  ;  then  gradually  expanding  it 
spreads  out,  embracing  great  bays  adjoining  one  another, 
opening  into  other  seas  by  narrow  straits  and  then 
widening  out  again.  Plrst,  then,  on  the  right  as  one  sails 
in  through  the  Pillars  of  Heracles  it  is  said  to  form  two 

2.:^  bays,  the  so-called  Syrtes,  the  Greater  and  the  Lesser 
as  they  are  called  ;  on  the  other  side  it  does  not  make 
such  bays,  but  forms  three  seas,  the  Sardinian,  the  Gallic, 
and  the  Adriatic.  Next  to  these  comes  the  Sicilian  sea, 
lying  crosswise,  and  after  it  the  Cretan.  Continuing  it 
come  the  Egyptian,  Pamphylian,  and  Syrian  seas  in  one 

30  direction,  and  the  Aegean  and  Myrtoan  seas  in  the  other. 
Over  against  the  seas  already  mentioned  extends  the 
Pontus,  which  is  made  up  of  several  parts ;  the  innermost 
portion  is  called  Maeotis,  while  the  outer  portion  in  the  ^^^' 
393^^  direction  of  the  Hellespont  is  connected  by  a  strait  with 
the  so-called  Propontis.  Towards  the  East  the  Ocean 
again  flows  in  and  opens  up  the  Indian^  and  Persian  it3i 
Gulfs,  and  displays  the  Erythraean  sea^  continuous  withßst 
these,  embracing  all  three.^  With  its  other  branch  it  passes 
^  through  a  long  narrow  strait  and  then  expands  again  bound 
ing  the  Hyrcanian  and  Caspian  country.  Beyond  thisjw 
it  occupies  the  large  tract  beyond  the  Lake  of  Maeotis  j 
then  beyond  the  Scythians  and  the  land  of  the  Celts 
it  gradually  confines  the  width  of  the  habitable  world,  as 

10  it  approaches  the  Gallic  Gulf  and  the  Pillars  of  Heracles 
already  mentioned,  outside  which  the  Ocean  flows  round 
the  earth.  In  this  sea  are  situated  two  very  large  islands 
the  so-called  British  Isles,  Albion  and  lerne,  which  are 
greater  than  any  which  we  have  yet  mentioned  and  lie-'. 
beyond  the  land  of  the  Celts.     (The  island  of  Taprobane 

15  opposite  India,  situated  at  an  angle  to  the  inhabited  world 
is  quite  as  large  as  the  British  Isles,  as  also  is  the  islanc 


'  The  Gulf  of  Cutch  or  the  Gulf  of  Cambay. 

'  The  Arabian  Sea. 

^  For  the  use  of  (5(6iAi;(/)ö)j'  cp.  396''  31  and  L.  and  S.,  s.  v.,  ii.  I,  2. 

■■  Ceylon,  cp.  Strabo,  xv.  14  (p.  690J. 


to. 


tion 


tliesi 
fron 


CHArTl-R  3  393 


called  riicbol  '  which  lies  over  against  the  Arabian  GulL-') 
There  is  a  large  number  of  small  islands  ronnd  the  British 
Isles  and  Iberia,  forming  a  belt  round  the  inhabited  world, 
which  as  we  have  already  said  is  itself  an  island.  The 
iwitllh  of  the  inhabited  world  at  the  greatest  extent  of  its 
mainland  is  rather  less  than  40,000  stades,  so  the  best  20 
geographers  say,  and  its  length  about  70,000  stades.  It 
is  divided  into  I'uropc.  Asia,  and  Libya. 

Europe  is  the  tract  bounded  in  a  circle  b)-  the  Pillars 
of  Heracles,  the  inner  recesses  of  the  Pontus,  and  the 
Hyrcanian  sea,  where  a  very  narrow  isthmus  stretches  to 
the  Pontus.  Some  have  held  that  the  river  Tanais  carries  35 
on  the  boundary  from  this  isthmus.  Asia  extends  from 
the  said  isthmus  and  the  Pontus  and  the  II}'rcanian  sea 
to  the  other  isthmus  which  lies  between  the  Arabian  Gulf^ 
md  the  inner  sea,  being  surrounded  by  the  inner  sea  and 
the  Ocean  which  flows  round  the  world.  Some,  however, 
define  the  bounds  of  Asia  as  from  the  Tanais  to  the  30 
mouths  of  the  Nile.  Libya  extends  from  the  Arabian 
sthmus  to  the  Pillars  of  Heracles;  though  some  describe 
t  as  stretching  from  the  Nile  to  tiic  Pillars;  l-g\'pt,  which  394* 
IS  surrounded  by  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  is  given  by  some 
;o  Asia,  by  others  to  Libya  ;  some  exclude  the  islands 
Tom  both  continents,  others  attach  them  to  their  nearest 
icighbour. 

Such  is  our  account  of  the  nature  of  land  and  sea  and  5 
heir  position — the  inhabited  world  as  wc  call  it. 


nd 


Let  us  now  deal   with  the  most   remarkable   conditions 

A'hich  are  produced  in  and  around  the  earth,  summarizing 

:hcm  in  the  barest  outline.    There  are  two  kinds  of  cxhala- 

ion  ^'  which  rise  continually  from  the  earth  into  the  air  above 

IS,  namclj-,  those  *  composed  of  small  particles  aiul  entircl}*  10 

nvisible,  exce[)t   when  they  occur  in  the  east,  and  those 

vhich  rise   froin    rivers  and   streams  and   are  visible.     Of 

hese  the  former  kind   lacing  given  off  from   the  earth   is 

Iry  and  resembles  smoke,  while  the  latter  being  exhaled 

rom  the  element  of  moisture  Is  damp  and  vaporous.    From 

'  Caprlle.  I.  c,  p.  559,  suggests  M.idag.iscar.  *  The  Red  Sea. 

*  Cp.  Meteor.  34i''6fT.  *  Reading  (nl)  X«jrTo/if^«it. 


394^  DE   MUNDO 

15  the  latter  are  produced  mist  and  dew  and  the  various 
forms  of  frost,  clouds  and  rain  and  snow  and  hail ;  while 
from  the  dry  exhalation  come  the  winds  and  the  different 
kinds  of  breezes,  and  thunder  and  lightning,  and  hurricanes 
and  thunderbolts,  and  all  other  cognate  phenomena.     Mist 

20  is  a  vaporous  exhalation  which  does  not  produce  water, 
denser  than  air  but  less  dense  than  cloud ;  it  arises  either 
from  the  first  beginnings  of  a  cloud  or  else  from  the 
remnant  of  a  cloud.  The  contrary  of  this  is  what  is  called 
a  clear  sky,  being  simply  air  free  from  cloud  and  mist. 
Dew  is  moisture  minute  in  composition  falling  from  a  clear 

25  sky  ;  ice  is  water  congealed  in  a  condensed  form  from 
a  clear  sky;  hoar-frost  is  congealed  dew,  and  'dew-frost' 
is  dew  which  is  half  congealed.  Cloud  is  a  vaporous  mass, 
concentrated  and  producing  water.  Rain  is  produced 
from  the  compression  of  a  closely  condensed  cloud,  vary- 
ing according  to  the  pressure  exerted  on  the  cloud  ;  when 

30  the  pressure  is  slight  it  scatters  gentle  drops  ;  when  it  is 
great  it  produces  a  more  violent  fall,  and  we  call  this 
a  shower,  being  heavier  than  ordinary  rain,  and  forming 
continuous  masses  of  water  falling  over  earth.  Snow  is 
produced  by  the  breaking  up  of  condensed  clouds,  the 
cleavage  taking  place  before  the  change  into  water  ;  it 
is  the  process  of  cleavage  which  causes  its  resemblance  to 

35  foam  and  its  intense  whiteness,  while  the  cause  of  its  coldness 
is  the  congelation  of  the  moisture  in  it  before  it  is  dis- 
394''  persed  or  rarefied.  When  snow  is  violent  and  falls  heavily 
we  call  it  a  blizzard.  Hail  is  produced  when  snow  becomes 
densified  and  acquires  impetus  for  a  swifter  fall  from  its 
close  mass;  the  weight  becomes  greater  and  the  fall  more 

5  violent  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  broken  fragments 
of  cloud.  Such  then  are  the  phenomena  which  occur  as 
the  result  of  moist  exhalation. 

From  dry  exhalation,  impelled  into  motion  by  cold,  is 
produced  wind';  for  wind  is  merely  a  quantity  of  air  set  in 
motion  in   a  mass.     Wind  is  also   called  breath,  a  word 

10  used  in  another  sense  of  the  vital  and  generative  substance 
which  is  found  in  plants  and  living  creatures,  and  permeates 
all  things ;    but  with  this  we  need   not  deal  here.     The 


rii.\i'ri':K  4 


394 


breath  which  breathes  in  the  air  we  call  wind,  while  to  the 
expirations  from  moisture  we  give  tlie  name  of  breezes. 
The  winds  which  blow  from  moist  land  we  call  '  land- 
winds ',  those  which  spring  up  from  gulfs  we  call  'gulf-  '5 
winds';  somewhat  similar  to  these  arc  those  which  blow 
from  rivers  ami  lakes.  Winds  which  arc  produced  by  the 
bursting  of  a  cloud  causing  an  expansion  of  its  density  in 
their  own  direction,*  are  called  'cloud-winds'.  Those 
which  are  accompanied  by  a  mass  of  water  breaking  forth 
are  called  '  rain-winds'. 

The  winds-  which  blow  continuously  from  the  rising  sun 
are  called  ICuri ;  tho.'e  from  the  north,  lioreac ;  those  from  20 
the  setting  sun,  Zephyri  ;  those  from  the  south,  Noti.  Of 
the  east  winds,  that  which  blows  from  the  region  of  the 
summer  sunrise  is  called  Caecias  ;  that  which  blows  from 
the  region  of  the  equinoctial  sunrise  is  known  as  Apeliotes; 
while  the  name  of  Eurus  is  i^iven  to  the  wind  which  blows 
from  the  c[uarter  of  the  winter  sunrise.  Of  the  west  winds, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  which  blows  from  the  summer  j? 
setting  is  Argestes,  though  some  call  it  Olympias,'  others 

'  Lit.  '  which  cause  .1  dissolution  of  its  density  against  themselves'. 
'  The  chart  of  the  winds  as  given  here  is  almost  identical  with  that 
given  in  di  Vent.  Sit.  it  AppelLit.  1973"  '')• 


1'/    A 


\y,r^j 


Zephyrus  W 


-ELApdiofea  Zephyrus  W 


^ 


/i 


DE  MUNDO 


VTNT.  5IT. 

The  following  arc  the  other  principal  parages  describing  the  winds 
in  classical  authors  :  Aristot.  Meteor.  363*  2-365*  13  ;  Seneca,  ijuaest. 
.\>tt.  V.  16;  IMiny,  ii.  IIqAT.  ;  loanncs  Lydus,  tie  Mensibus  iv.  119. 

*  In  lie  Vent.  Sit.  973'' 21  Olympias  is  given  as  a  synonym  for 
Thr.icias,  not  for  .Vrgcstcs  as  here. 


394^^  DE   MUNDO 

lapyx  ;  that  which  blows  from  the  equinoctial  setting  is 
Zephyrus,  and  that  which  blows  from  the  winter  setting 
is  Lips.  Of  the  north  winds  (Boreae)  that  which  is  next 
to  Caecias  is  called  Boreas  in  the  specific  sense  of  the 
word.^     Aparctias^  is  next  to  it,  and  blows  in  a  southerly 

30  direction  from  the  pole.  Thracias  '^  is  the  wind  which 
blows  next  to  Argestes ;  by  some  it  is  called  Circias.'*  Of 
the  south  winds,  that  which  comes  from  the  invisible  pole 
and  immediately  faces  Aparctias  is  called  Notus ;  that 
between  Notus  and  Eurus  is  called  Euronotus.  The  wind 
on  the  other  side  between  Lips  and  Notus  is  called  by  some 
Libonotus,  by  others  Libophoenix. 

35  Some  winds  are  direct,  those,  that  is,  which  blow  along 
a  straight  line  ;  others  follow  a  bending  course,  as  for 
395  instance  the  wind  called  Caecias.'^  Some  winds  hold  sway 
in  the  winter,  the  south  winds  for  example  ;  others  in  the 
summer,  such  as  the  Etesian  winds  (Trade  winds),  which 
are  a  mixture  of  northerly  and  westerly  winds.  The 
so-called  Ornithian  ^  winds,  which  occur  in  the  spring,  are 
a  northerly  type  of  wind. 
5  Of  violent  blasts  of  wind,  a  squall  is  one  which  suddenly 
strikes  down  from  above ;  a  gust  is  a  violent  blast  which 
springs  up  in  a  moment ;  a  whirlwind,  or  tornado,  is  a 
wind  which  revolves  in  an  upward  direction  from  below. 
An  eruption  of  wind  from  the  earth  is  a  blast  caused  by 
the  emission   of  air  from   a  deep  hole  or  cleft ;   when  it 

10  comes  forth  in  a  whirling  mass  it  is  called  an  'earth-storm '. 
A  wind  which  is  whirled  along  in  a  dense  watery  cloud 
and  being  driven  forth ''  through  it  violently  breaks  up  the 
continuous  masses  of  the  cloud,  causes  a  roar  and  crash, 
which  we  call  thunder,  similar  to  the  noise  made  by  wind 

'  Called  Meses  in  de  Vent.  Sit.  973-'' 3-7,  where  see  note. 

^  Called  Boreas  in  de  Vent.  Sit. 

'  Reading  QpaKim  (R  Gpaw'as):  cp.  de  Vent.  Sit.  973*^  17. 

*  KaiKt'ay,  the  MS.  reading,  cannot  possibly  be  right  here,  the  name 
having  been  already  given  to  the  N.  E.  wind  (394^^  22).  1  therefore 
read  KtpKias:  cp.  de  Vent.  Sit.  973^20  QpaKias  .  .  .  iv  6f  'iToXia  ml 
2iKeXiq  KipKins  (emended  by  Rose  for  KipKns). 

^  Cp.  Meteor.  364^  12. 

*  i.e.  the  winds  which  bring  the  birds  of  passage. 
■^  Reading  i^waöev  for  e^wöei'. 


CHAPTER  4  395'^ 

driven  violcntl)'  tluout^h  water.  \\  licii  the  wind  in  break- 
ing forth  from  a  cloud  catches  fire  and  flashes  it  is  called  15 
lightninf^.  The  lightninjj  reaches  our  perception  sooner 
than  the  thunder,  thoucjli  it  actually  occurs  after  it,  since  it 
is  the  nature  of  tiiat  which  is  heard  to  travel  less  quickly 
than  that  which  is  seen  ;  for  the  latter  is  visible  at  a 
tlistancc,  while  the  fornier  is  onl}-  heard  '  when  it  reaches 
the  ear,  especially  since  the  one,  the  fier\'  clement,  travels 
faster  than  an}thing  else,  while  the  other,  bcin;^  of  the  nature  20 
of  air,  is  less  swift  and  only  reaches  the  ear  by  actually 
striking  upon  it.*  If  the  flashing  bod)'  is  set  on  fire  and 
rushes  violently  to  the  earth  it  is  called  a  thunderbolt  ;  if 
it  be  only  half  of  fire,  but  violent  also  antl  massive,  it  is 
called  a  meteor;  if  it  is  entirely  free  from  fire,  it  is  called 
a  smoking  bolt.^  They  are  all  called  'swooping  bolts ',  jj 
because  they  swoop  clown  upon  the  earth.  Lightning* 
is  sometimes  smoky,  and  is  then  called  'smouldering 
lightning";  sometimes  it  darts  quickly  along,  and  is  then 
said  to  be  'vivid';  at  otlier  times  it  travels  in  crooked 
lines,  and  is  called  '  forked  lightning ' ;  when  it  swoops 
down  upon  some  object  it  is  called  'swooping  lightning'. 

'I'o  sum  up,  some  of  the  i)henomena  which  occur  in  the 
air  are  merel}'  appearances,  while  others  have  actual  sub-  30 
stance  and  reality.  Rainbows  and  streaks  in  the  sky  and 
the  like  arc  only  appearances,  while  flashes  and  shooting- 
stars  and  comets  and  tlie  like  have  real  substance.  A  rain- 
bow is  the  reflection  of  a  segment  of  the  sun  or  of  the  moon, 
seen,  like  an  image  in  a  mirror,  in  a  cloud  which  is  moist, 
hollow,  and  continuous  in  appearance,  and  taking  a  circular  .v=; 

'  ö,»«/i«Voi'  is  used  in  its  ptopcr  sense  in  the  clause  in  which  it 
st.inds,  and  by  .1  sort  of  zt'Ut^tna  for  .i«oi'o>j«i»i'  in  the  next  cl.iuse. 

'  Li>;litninjj  is  immediately  seen  by  the  eye,  thunder  can  only  be 
perceived  by  the  car  when  the  orijjinal  movement  has  set  up  other 
movements  which  eventually  strike  upon  the  car.  (Cp.  //«•  --///</. 
8oo*6-i2.) 

*  ri<^f  cannot  here  be  used  (as  in  400''  29)  of  a  '  violent  storm  ', 
'  hurric.inc  * ;  as  applied  to  a  thunderbolt,  it  seems  to  mean  one  which 
smokes,  and  to  be  connected  with  the  verb  Ti</)«if,  'to  smoke'. 

*  The  word  «»,hiii' t  is  used  in  (Ircc-k  to  mean  cither  (l)  'a  thunder- 
l)oIt  *,  or  (2)  'lightning',  which  wore  more  or  lc»s  identified  by  the 
(irceks.  The  context  seems  to  show  that  it  has  the  former  n\eaning 
in  395' 22,  the  latter  in  this  passage. 


395^  DE   MUNDO 

form.  A  streak  is  a  rainbow  appearing  in  the  form  of  a 
straight  line.  A  halo  is  an  appearance  of  brightness  shining 
oqeto  round  a  star ;  it  differs  from  a  rainbow,  because  the  latter 
appears  opposite  the  sun  and  moon,  while  the  halo  is  formed 
all  round  a  star.  A  light  in  the  sky  is  caused  by  the  kindling 
of  a  dense  fire  in  the  air;  some  lights  shoot  along,  others 
5  are  fixed.  The  shooting  is  the  generation  of  fire  by 
friction,  when  the  fire  moves  quickly  through  the  air  and 
by  its  quickness  produces  an  impression  of  length  ;  the 
fixture  is  a  prolonged  extension  without  movement,  an 
elongated  star  as  it  were.  A  light  which  broadens  out 
towards  one  end  is  called  a  comet.     Some  heavenly  lights 

lo  often  last  a  considerable  time,  others  are  extinguished 
immediately.  There  are  numerous  other  peculiar  kinds 
of  appearances  seen  in  the  sky,  the  so-called  *  torches ', 
'  beams  ',^  '  barrels  ',  and  '  pits  V  which  derive  their  names 
from  their  similarity  to  these  objects.  Some  of  them 
appear    in    the  west,    others   in    the  east,   others  in  both 

15  these  quarters,  but  rarely  in  the  north  or  south.  None  of 
them  are  subject  to  fixed  laws ;  for  none  of  them  have 
been  discovered  to  be  always  visible  in  a  fixed  position. 
Such  are  the  phenomena  of  the  air. 

As  the  earth  contains  many  sources  of  water,  so  also  it 
contains  many  sources  of  wind  and  fire.     Of  these  some 

20  are  subterranean  and  invisible,  but  many  have  vents  and 
spiracles,  as  Lipara,  Etna,  and  the  volcanoes  of  the  Aeolian 
islands.  Some  of  them  frequently  flow  like  rivers  and  cast 
up  red-hot  lumps.  Some,  which  are  under  the  earth  near 
springs  of  water,  w^arm  them  and  cause  some  streams  to 

25  flow  tepid,  others  very  hot,  others  tempered  to  a  pleasant 
heat.  Similarly,  many  vent-holes  for  wind  open  in  every 
part  of  the  earth  ;  some  of  them  cause  those  who  draw 
near  to  them  to  become  frenzied,  others  cause  them  to 
waste  away,  others  inspire  them  to  utter  oracles,  as  at 
Delphi  and  Lebadia,^  others  utterly  destroy  them,  as  the 

30  one  in  Phrygia.^     Often,  too,  a  moderate  wind  engendered 

^  Cp.  3921^4. 
J^  Paus.  ix.  39.  5  ;  Strabo,  ix.  2.  38  (p.  414)  ;  Philostratus,  Vit.  Apoll. 
viii.  19. 

'  Strabo,  xiii.  4.  11  (p.  628). 


CHAPTKR  4  395' 

in  the  earth,  bein^  driven  aside  into  distant  holes  and 
crannies  of  the  earth  and  displaced  from  its  proper  locality, 
causes  shocks  in  many  parts.  Often,  too,  a  strong  current 
from  without  becomes  involved  in  the  hollows  of  the  earth, 
and,  its  exit  bein^  cut  off,  it  shakes  the  earth  violentl)-, 
seeking  an  exit,  and  sets  up  the  condition  which  we  com-  35 
monly  call  an  cartlu[uakc.  Kartluiuakes  of  which  the 
shock  is  oblique,  at  a  sharp  angle,  arc  known  as  '  horizontal  396* 
earthquakes '  ;  those  which  lift  the  earth  up  and  down  at 
ri^jht  angles  are  kncnvn  as  '  hcavini;  cartlujuakcs  '  ;  those 
which  ciusc  the  earth  to  settle  down  into  hollows  are  called 
'  gaping  earthquakes ' ;  those  which  open  up  chasms  and 
break  up  the  earth's  surface  arc  called  '  rending  earth- 
quakes'.  Some  of  them  also  emit  winds,  others  stones  or  5 
mud,  while  others  cause  springs  to  appear  which  did  not 
exist  before.  Some  earthquakes  cause  a  disturbance  by 
means  of  a  single  shock  and  are  known  as  '  thrusting  earth- 
quakes '.  Others  which  swing  to  and  fro  and  by  inclinations 
and  waves  in  each  direction  rcmed>-  the  effect  of  their 
shock,  arc  called  'vibrating  earthquakes',  setting  up  a  10 
condition  which  resembles  trembling.  There  are  also 
'  bellowing  earthquakes',  which  shake  the  earth  with  a  roar. 
Underground  bellowing,  however,  is  often  heard  unaccom- 
panied by  shocks,  when  the  wind,  though  insufTicient 
to  cause  a  shock,  is  compressed  together  in  the  earth  and 
beats  with  the  force  of  its  impetus.  Blasts  which  penetrate 
into  the  earth  arc  materialized  also  from  moisture  con-  15 
cealed  underground. 

We  find  analogous  phenomena  occurring  in  the  sea. 
Chasms  form  in  it  and  its  waters  often  retire  or  the  waves 
rush  in  ;  this  is  sometimes  followed  by  a  recoil  and  some- 
times there  is  merely  a  forward  surge  of  water,  as  is  said  to  20 
have  occurred  at  Ilelice  and  Rura.^  Often,  too,  there  are 
exhalations  of  fire  from  the  sea,  and  springs  gush  out  and 
river-mouths  are  formed  and  trees  suddenly  grow  up,  and 
currents  and  eddies  appear,  like  those  caused  in  the  air  by 

*  An  account  of  this  tidal  wave  in  northern  .Achaca  in  373  B.C. 
is  ^ivcn  by  Strabo,  viii.  7.  z  'P-  384'.  and  I'ausanias  ivii.  25.  S)  ; 
cp.  also  Meteor.  343'»  i,  17,  344**  34,  36Ö''6. 


396^  DE   MUNDO 

25  blasts  of  wind,  sometimes  in  the  middle  of  the  sea,  some- 
times in  straits  and  channels.  Many  tides  and  tidal  waves 
are  said  always  to  accompany  the  periods  of  the  moon  at 
fixed  intervals.  In  short,  owing  to  the  mingling  of  the 
elements  together,  similar  conditions  are  produced  in  the 

30  air  and  in  the  earth  and  in  the  sea,  causing  decay  and 
generation  in  detail,  but  preserving  the  whole  free  from 
destruction  and  generation. 

Yet  some  have  wondered  how  it  is  that  the  Universe,  5 
if  it  be  composed  of  contrary  principles — namely,  dry  and 

35  moist,  hot  and  cold — has  not  long  ago  perished  and  been 
396''  destroyed.^  It  is  just  as  though  one  should  wonder  how 
a  city  continues  to  exist,  being,  as  it  is,  composed  of 
opposing  classes — rich  and  poor,  young  and  old,  weak  and 
strong,  good  and  bad.  They  fail  to  notice  that  this  has 
always  been  the  most  striking  characteristic  of  civic  con- 

5  cord,  that  it  evolves  unity  out  of  plurality,  and  similarity 
out  of  dissimilarity,  while  it  admits  every  kind  and  variety. 
It  may  perhaps  be  that  nature  has  a  liking  for  contraries 
and  evolves  harmony  out  of  them  and  not  out  of  similarities 
(just  as  she  joins  the  male  and  female  together   and  not 

10  members  of  the  same  sex),  and  has  devised  the  origi- 
nal harmony  by  means  of  contraries  and  not  similarities. 
The  arts,  too,  apparently  imitate  nature  in  this  respect. 
The  art  of  painting,  by  mingling  in  the  picture  the 
elements  of  white   and   black,   yellow   and   red,    achieves 

15  representations  which  correspond  to  the  original  object. 
Music,  too,  mingling  together  notes,  high  and  low,  short 
and  prolonged,  attains  to  a  single  harmony  amid  different 
voices ;  while  writing,  mingling  vowels  and  consonants, 
composes  of  them  all  its  art.     The  saying  found  in  Hera- 

20  cleitus  '  the  obscure  '  was  to  the  same  effect :  '  Junctions 
are :  wholes  and  not  wholes,  that  which  agrees  and  that 
which  differs,  that  which  produces  harmony  and  that  which 
produces  discord  j  from  all  you  get  one  and  from  one  you 
get  all.' 2 

'  Cf.  Seneca,  Quaest.  Nat.  vii.  27.  3  ff. 

"^  Reading  awa^m  (O  R)  oka  Ka\  oh-^  o\a  (P)  with  Dials,  Vvrsokr.^ 
i,  p.  So,  1.  2. 


ciiaiti:r  5  396^ 

Thus  then  a  single  harmony  onlcrs  the  composition  ot 
the  whole— heaven  and  earth  and  the  whole  Universe— by 
the  mingling  of  the  most  contrary  principles.  The  dry  J5 
mingling  with  the  moist,  the  hot  with  the  cold,  the  light 
with  the  heav)',  the  straight  with  the  curved,  all  the  earth, 
the  sea,  the  ether,  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  w  hole  heaven 
are  ordered  by  a  single  power  extending  through  all,  which 
has  created  the  whole  universe  out  of  separate  and  different 
elements — air,  earth,  fire,  and  water — embracing  '  them  all  30 
on  one  spherical  surface  and  forcing  the  most  contrary 
natures  to  live  in  agreement  with  one  another  in  the 
universe,  and  thus  contriving  the  permanence  of  the  whole. 
The  cause  of  this  permanence  is  the  agreement  of  the 
elements,  and  the  reason  of  this  agreement  is  their  equal 
proportion  and  the  fact  that  no  one  of  them  is  more  3^ 
powerful  th.m  an)-  other,  for  the  heavy  is  equally  balanced  397 
with  the  light  and  the  hot  with  the  cold.  Thus  nature 
teaches  us  in  the  greater  piinci[)les  of  the  world  that 
equality  somehow  tends  to  proerve  harmony,  whilst 
harmony  preserves  the  universe  which  is  the  parent  of  all 
things  and  itself  the  fairest  thing  of  all.  For  what  created 
thing  is  more  excellent  ?  Any  that  one  can  name  is  but  5 
a  part  of  the  ordered  Universe.  All  that  is  beauteous  bears 
its  name,  and  all  that  which  is  arranged  well,  for  it  is  said 
to  be  well  '  ordered ',  being  thus  called  after  the  '  ordered  ' 
L'niverse.-  And  what  subordinate  phenomenon  could  be 
likened  to  the  ordered  system  of  the  heavens  and  the 
march  of  the  stars  and  the  sun  and  the  moon,  which  move  'o 
on  in  unvarying  measure  through  age  after  age?  Where 
else  could  be  found  such  regularity  as  is  observed  by  the 
goodly  seasons,  which  produce  all  things  and  bring  in  due 
order  summer  and  winter,  day  and  night,  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  month  and  the  year  ?  Moreover,  in  greatness 
the  universe  is  pre-eminent,  in  motion  swiftest,  in  radiance  15 
most  bright,  and  in  might  it  knows  not  old  age  or  corrup- 
tion. It  has  divided  the  various  creatures  that  live  in  the  sea, 
on  the  earth,  and  in  the  air,  and  regulated  their  lives  by  its 

'   lor  this  use  ot  •iuiAu^«»'-»  cj).  jyj''  4  ,\nd  note. 
»  Cp.  jgi*»  10-11. 


397*  DE   MUNDO 

movements.     Of  it  all  living  things  breathe  and  have  their 

20  life.  Even  all  the  unexpected  changes  which  occur  in  it  are 
really  accomplished  in  an  ordered  sequence — diverse  winds 
conflicting  together,  thunderbolts  falling  from  heaven,  and 
violent  storms  bursting  forth.  The  expulsion  of  moisture 
and  the  exhalation  of  fire  by  these  means  restores  the 
whole  to  harmony  and  stability.     The  earth,  too,  clothed 

25  with  diverse  vegetation,  gushing  forth  with  streams  and 
trodden  by  the  feet  of  living  creatures,  in  due  season 
bringing  forth,  nurturing,  and  receiving  back  all  things, 
producing  countless  varieties  and  changes,  none  the  less 
always  preserves  its  nature  untouched  by  age,  though 
shaken  by  earthquakes,  washed  by  floods,  and   in  parts 

30  burnt  up  by  fires.  All  these  things  seem  to  work  its 
welfare  and  to  ensure  its  eternal  permanence.  For  when 
it  is  shaken  by  earthquakes,  the  winds  which  have  been 
diverted  into  it  escape  forth,  finding  vents  through  the 
clefts,  as  we  have  already  said  ;  ^  when  it  is  washed  by  rain, 
it  is  cleansed  of  all  that  is  unhealthy  :  and  when  the  breezes 

35  blow  about  it,  it  is  purified  above  and  beneath.  Again, 
397''  the  fires  soften  that  which  is  frost-bound,  while  the  frosts 
abate  the  fires.  Of  individual  things  upon  the  earth  some 
are  coming  into  being,  others  are  at  their  prime,  others  are 
decaying  ;  and  birth  checks  decay  and  decay  lightens  birth. 
5  Thus  an  unbroken  permanence,  which  all  things  conspire  to 
secure,  counteracting  one  another — at  one  time  dominating, 
at  another  being  dominated — preserves  the  whole  unim- 
paired through  all  eternity. 

There  still  remains  for  us  to  treat  briefly,  as  we  have  6 
10  discussed  the  other  subjects,  of  the  cause  which  holds  all 
things  together.  For  in  dealing  with  the  universe,  not 
perhaps  in  exact  detail,  yet  at  any  rate  so  as  to  give  a 
general  idea  of  the  subject,  it  would  be  wrong  to  omit  that 
which  is  the  most  important  thing  in  the  universe.  The 
old  explanation  which  we  have  all  inherited  from  our 
fathers,  is  that  all  things  are  from  God  and  were  framed 
75  for  us  by  God,  and  that  no  created  thing  is  of  itself  sufficient 

'  Cp,  395'' 20. 


ciiArri'.R  6  397" 

for  itself,  deprived  of  the  permanence  which  it  ilcrives  froni 
him.  Therefore  some  of  the  ancients  went  so  far  as  to 
say  that  all  those  things  are  full  of  God  which  arc  pre- 
sented to  us  through  the  eyes  and  the  hearing  and  all  the 
other  senses,  thus  propounding  a  theory  which,  though  it 
accorils  with  the  divine  power,  docs  not  accord  with  the  .-o 
divine  nature.  For  God  is  in  very  truth  the  preserver  antl 
creatt>r  of  all  that  is  in  anyway  being  brought  to  perfection 
in  this  universe;  \et  he  endures  not  all  the  weariness  of 
a  being  that  administers  and  labours,  but  exerts  a  power 
which  never  wearies  ;  whereby  he  i)revails  even  over  thing?? 
which  seem  far  distant  from  him.  Me  hath  himself  ob- 
tained the  first  and  highest  place  and  is  therefore  called  .'5 
Supreme,  and  has,  in  the  words  of  the  poet. 

Taken  his  seat  in  heaven's  topmost  height  ; ' 

and  the  heavenly  bod\*  which  is  nighcst  to  hiin  most 
enjoys  his  power,  and  afterwards  the  next  nearest,  and  so 
on  successive!)'  until  the  regions  wherein  wc  dwell  are 
reached.  Wherefore  the  earth  and  the  things  upon  the 
earth,  being  farthest  removed  from  the  benefit  which  30 
l)roceeds  from  God,  seem  feeble  and  incoherent  and  full 
of  much  confusion  ;  nevertheless,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the 
nature  of  the  divine  to  penetrate  to  all  things,  the  things 
also  of  our  earth  receive  their  share  of  it,  and  the  things 
above  us  according  to  their  nearness  to  or  distance  from  .v=i 
G(xl  receive  more  or  less  of  divine  benefit.  It  is  therefore  398* 
better,  even  as  it  is  more  seemly  and  befitting  God,  to 
suppose  that  the  power  which  is  stablished  in  the  heavens 
is  the  cause  of  permanence  even  in  those  things  which 
are  furthest  removed  from  it — in  a  word,  in  all  things, — 
rather  than  to  hold  that  it  passes  forth  and  travels  to  and  5 
fro  to  places  which  become  and  befit  it  not,  and  personally 
administers  the  affairs  of  this  earth.  For  indeed,  to  sujxjr- 
intend  any  and  every  operation  dc^es  not  become  even  the 
rulers  among  mankind-  the  chief,  for  example,  of  an  army 
or  a  city,  or  the  head  of  a  household,  if  it  were  necessary 
to  bind  up  a  sack  of  bedding  or  perform  any  other  somc- 

•  //.  i.  499.  &C. 

..      >..  C 


398^  DE    MUNDO 

lo  what  menial  task,  such  as  in  the  days  of  the  Great  King 
would  not  be  performed  by  any  ordinary  slave.  Nay,  we 
are  told  that  the  outward  show  observed  by  Cambyses  and 
Xerxes  and  Darius  was  magnificently  ordered  with  the 
utmost  state  and  splendour.  The  king  himself,  so  the  story 
goes,  established  himself  at  Susa  or  Ecbatana,  invisible  to 

15  all,  dwelling  in  a  wondrous  palace  within  a  fence  gleaming 
with  gold  and  amber  and  ivory.  And  it  had  many  gate- 
ways one  after  another,  and  porches  many  furlongs  apart 
from  one  another,  secured  by  bronze  doors  and  mighty 
•walls.  Outside  these  the  chief  and  most  distinguished 
men  had    their   appointed    place,   some  being   the  king's 

20  personal  servants,  his  bodyguard  and  attendants,  others  the 
guardians  of  each  of  the  enclosing  walls,  the  so-called 
janitors  and  '  listeners ',  that  the  king  himself,  who  was 
called  their  master  and  deity,  might  thus  see  and  hear  all 
things.    Besides  these,  others  were  appointed  as  stewards  of 

25  his  revenues  and  leaders  in  war  and  hunting,  and  receivers 
of  gifts,  and  others  charged  with  all  the  other  necessary 
functions.  All  the  Empire  of  Asia,  bounded  on  the  west 
by  the  Hellespont  and  on  the  east  by  the  Indus,  was 
apportioned  according  to  races  among  generals  and  satraps 

30  and  subject-princes  of  the  Great  King ;  and  there  were 
couriers  and  watchmen  and  messengers  and  superintendents 
of  signal-fires.  So  efTective  was  the  organization,  in 
particular  the  system  of  signal-fires,  which  formed  a  chain 
of  beacons  from  the  furthest  bounds  of  the  empire  to  Susa 
and  Ecbatana,  that  the  king  received  the  same  day  the 

35  news  of  all  that  was  happening  in  Asia.  Now  we  must 
398''  suppose  that  the  majesty  of  the  Great  King  falls  as  far  short 
of  that  of  the  God  who  possesses  the  universe,  as  that  of 
the  feeblest  and  weakest  creature  is  inferior  to  that  of  the 
king  of  Persia.  Wherefore,  if  it  was  beneath  the  dignity 
of  Xerxes  to  appear  himself  to  administer  all  things  and 
5  to  carry  out  his  own  wishes  and  superintend  the  govern- 
ment of  his  kingdom,  such  functions  would  be  still  less 
becoming  for  a  god.  Nay,  it  is  more  worthy  of  his  dignity 
and  more  befitting  that  he  should  be  enthroned  in  the 
highest  region,  and  that  his  power,  extending  through  the 


CHAPTHK  6  agS'' 

whole  universe,  shoiilil  iuü\e  the  sun  ;iiul  inot^n  atul  make 
the  whole  heaven  revoKe  and  be  llie  cause  of  permanence 
to  all  ti)at  is  on  this  earth,      h'or  he  needs  no  contrivance  lo 
or  the  service  of  others,  as  our  earthl\'  rulers,  owin;^  to  tiieir 
feebleness,  need  many  hands  to  do  their  work  ;  but  it  is  most 
characteristic  of  the  divine  to  be  able  to  accomplish  diverse 
kinds  of  work  with  case  and  by  simple  movement,  even  as 
past  masters  of  a  craft  by  one  turn  of  a  machine  accomplish  15 
man)'  different  operations.      And  just  as  puppet-showmen 
b\'  pulling  a  single  string  make  the  neck   and    hantl   and 
shoulder  and  e)e  and  sometimes  all  the  parts  of  the  figure 
move  with  a  certain  haiinony;  so  too  the  divine  nature, 
by  simple  movement  of  tli.it  which  is  nearest  to  it,  imparts  20 
its  power  to  that  which  next  succcetls,  and  thence  further 
and  further  until  it  extends  over  all  things.     l*'or  one  thing, 
moved  b\'  another,  itself  in  due  order  moves  something 
else,  each  acting  according  to  its  own  constitution,  and  not 
all  following  the  .same  course  but  different  and  various  and  25 
sometimes  even  contrary  courses  ;    although  the  first  im- 
pulse, as  it  may  be  called,  was  directed  to  a  single  form  of 
motion.     It  is  just  as  though  one  should   cast   from   one 
vessel  at  the  same  time  a  sphere,  a  cube,  a  cone,  and  a 
cylinder  ;  each  of  them  will  move  according  to  its  particular 
shaiKj.     Or  if  one  should  hold  in  the  folds  of  a  garment  30 
a  w.iter-animal.  a  land-animal,  and  a  bird,  ami  let  them  go  ; 
clearly  the  animal  that  swims  will  leap  into  its  own  element 
and   swim   awa)-,  the   land-animal  will  creep  away  to   its 
own  haunts  and  pastures,  the  bird  of  the  air  will  raise  itself 
aloft   from   the   earth  and   fly  away,   thou;^h    one    original 
cause  gave  each  its  aptitude  for  movement.     So  is  it  with  .^5 
the  univer.se ;   by  a  single  revolution  of  the  whole  within  399" 
the  bounds  of  day  and  night,  the  different  orbits  of  all  the 
heavenly  bodies  arc  produced,  though  all  are  enclosed  in 
a  single  sphere,  some  moving  more  quickly,  others  more 
slowly,  according  to  the  distances  between  them  and  the  5 
individual  composition  of  each.    For  the  moon  accomplishes 
her  circuit  in  a  month,  waxing  and  waning  and  disappearing  ; 
the  sun  and  the  heavenly  bodies  whose  course  is  of  ccpial 
length,  namely  those  called  the  '  Lightbcarer '  and  Hermes, 

C  2 


399^  DE    MUNDO 

perform   their  revolution    in    a  year  ;    the  '  Fiery  star '    in 

lo  double  that  period  ;  the  star  of  Zeus  in  six  years  ;  and 
lastly  the  so-called  star  of  Cronos  in  a  period  two  and  a 
half  times  as  long  as  the  heavenly  body  next  below  it. 
The  single  harmony  produced  by  all  the  heavenly  bodies 
singing  and  dancing  together  springs  from  one  source  and 
ends  by  achieving  one  purpose,  and  has  rightly  bestowed 
the  name   not  of  '  disordered  '   but   of  '  ordered  universe ' 

15  upon  the  whole.  And  just  as  in  a  chorus,  when  the  leader 
gives  the  signal  to  begin,  the  whole  chorus  of  men,  or  it 
may  be  of  women,  joins  in  the  song,  mingling  a  single 
studied  harmony  among  different  voices,  some  high  and 
some  low ;  so  too  is  it  with  the  God  that  rules  the  whole 
world.     For  at  the  signal  given  from  on  high  by  him  who 

20  may  well  be  called  their  chorus-leader,  the  stars  and  the 
whole  heaven  always  move,  and  the  sun  that  illumines  all 
things  travels  forth  on  his  double  course,  whereby  he  both 
divides  day  and  night  by  his  rising  and  setting,  and  also 
brings  the  four  seasons  of  the  year,  as  he  moves  forwards 
towards  the  north  and  backwards  towards  the  south.  And 
in  their  own  due  season  the  rain,  the  winds,  and  the  dews, 

25  and  all  the  other  phenomena  which  occur  in  the  region 
which  surrounds  the  Earth,  are  produced  by  the  first, 
primaeval  cause.  These  are  followed  by  the  flowing  of 
rivers,  the  swelling  of  the  sea,  the  growth  of  trees,  the 
ripening  of  fruits,  the  birth  of  animals,  the  nurturing  and 
the  prime  and  decay  of  all  things,  to  which,  as  I  have  said, 

30  their  individual  composition  contributes.  When,  therefore, 
the  ruler  and  parent  of  all,  invisible  save  to  the  mind  of  the 
eye,  gives  the  word  to  all  nature  that  moves  betwixt  heaven 
and  earth,  the  whole  revolves  unceasingly  in  its  own  circuits 
and  within  its  own  bounds,  sometimes  unseen  and  some- 
times appearing,  revealing  and  again  hiding  diverse  manners 

35  of  things,  from  one  and  the  same  cause.     Very  like  is  it  to 

399^^  that  which  happens  in  times  of  war,  when   the   trumpet 

sounds  to  the  army  ;   then  each  soldier  hears  its  note,  and 

one  takes  up   his  shield,  another   dons   his   breast-plate ; 

another  puts  on  his  greaves   or  his  helmet  or  his  sword- 

5  belt ;  one  puts  the  bit  in  his  horse's  mouth,  another  mounts 


LlIAi'li:R  6  399^ 

his  chariot,  another  passes  aloii^  the  watchuonl  ;  the 
caj^tain  betakes  himself  strai'^htway  to  his  coni[Kiny,  the 
coiDmander  to  his  ilivision,  tlie  horseman  to  his  sc|uatlrün, 
the  M^ht-armtd  warrior  liastens  to  his  appointed  place  ;  all 
is  hurry  and  movement  in  obedience  to  one  word  of  com- 
maiul,  to  carr)'  out  the  orilers  of  the  lea^lei  who  is  supreme 
i>ver  all.  Hven  so  must  we  suppose  concernin;^  the  universe  ;  lo 
by  one  impelling  force,  unseen  aiul  hidden  from  our  eyes, 
all  thinj^s  arc  stirreel  antl  perform  their  individual  functions. 
That  this  force  is  unseen  stands  in  the  way  neither  of  its 
action  nor  of  our  belief  in  it.  For  the  spirit  of  intelligence 
whereby  we  live  and  dwell  in  houses  and  communities, 
though  invisible,  is  )et  seen  in  its  ojx^rations;  for  by  it  the  15 
whole  ordering  of  life  has  been  discovered  and  organi/eil 
and  is  held  together — the  ploughing  and  planting  of  the 
earth,  the  discovery  of  the  arts,  the  use  of  law,  the  ordering 
of  constitutions,  the  administration  of  home  affairs  and  war 
outside  our  borders  and  peace.  Thus,  too,  must  we  think  of 
(jod,  who  in  mii^ht  is  most  powerlul.  in  beauty  most  fair,  .-o 
in  time  immortal,  in  virtue  supreme;  for,  though  he  is 
invisible  to  all  mortal  nature,  )-et  is  he  seen  in  his  very 
works.  For  all  that  happens  in  the  air,  on  the  earth,  and 
in  the  water,  may  truly  be  said  to  be  the  work  of  God, 
who  possesses  the  universe;  from  whom,  in  the  words  of  .'5 
I'^mpcdocles,  the  natural  philosopher, 

Whatsoever  hath  been  and  is  now  anil  shall  be  hereafter, 
All  alike  hath  its  birth — men,  women,  trees  of  the  forest, 
Hcasts  of  the  field  and  fowls  of  the  air  anil  fish  in  the  water.' 

i'o  use  a  somewhat  humble  illustration,  we  might  with 
truth  comp.ire  the  onlering  of  the  uni\erse  to  the  so-called 
•  key-st«jnes  '  in  arches,  which,  placed  at  the  junction  of  the  yj 
two  sides,  ensure  the  balance  and  arrangement  of  the  whole 
structure  of  the  arch  and  give  it  stability.  Moreover,  they 
say  that  the  sculptor  Phcidias,  when  he  was  setting  up  thr 
Athena  on  the  Acropolis,  represented  his  own  features  in 
the  centre  of  her  shield,  and  so  attached  it  to  the  statue  by  35 
a  hidden  contrivance,  that  any  one  who  tried  to  cut  it  out.  ^oo'' 

*  Diels,  l-'ifrsplr.'  i,  p.  233,  9-1 1, 


400^  DE   MUNDO 

thereby  necessarily  shattered  and  overthrew  the  whole 
statue.^  The  position  of  God  in  the  universe  is  analogous 
to  this,  for  he  preserves  the  harmony  and  permanence  of  all 
things  ;  save  only  that  he  has  his  seat  not  in  the  midst, 
5  where  the  earth  and  this  our  troubled  world  is  situated,  but 
himself  pure  he  has  gone  up  into  a  pure  region,  to  which 
we  rightly  give  the  name  of  heaven,  for  it  is  the  furthest 
boundary  ^  of  the  upper  world,  and  the  name  of  Olympus, 
because  it  is  all-bright^  and  free  from  all  gloom  and 
disordered  motion,  such  as  is  caused  on  our  earth  by 
10  storms  and  the  violence  of  the  wind.  Even  thus  speaks 
the  poet  Homer — 

Unto  Olympus'  height,  where  men  say  that  the  gods  have 

their  dwelling, 
Alway  safe  and  secure;  no  wind  ever  shaketh  its  stillness, 
Nor  is  it  wet  with  the  rain  ;  no  snow  draweth  nigh ;  but 

unclouded, 
Ev^er    the   air   is   outspread,   and  a   white    sheen    floateth 

about  it.^ 

15  This,  too,  is  borne  out  by  the  general  habit  of  mankind, 
which  assigns  the  regions  above  to  God ;  for  we  all  stretch 
up  our  hands  to  heaven  when  we  offer  prayers.  Wherefore 
these  words  of  the  poet  are  not  spoken  amiss, 

Heaven  belongeth  to  Zeus,  wide  spread  mid   the  clouds 
and  the  ether.^ 

20  Therefore  also  the  objects  of  sense  which  are  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  occupy  the  same  region,  to  wit  the  stars  and 
the  sun  and  moon.  For  this  cause  the  heavenly  bodies 
alone  are  so  arranged  that  they  ever  preserve  the  same 
order,  and  never  alter  or  move  from  their  course,  while  the 
things  of  earth,  being  mutable,  admit  of  many  changes 

25  and  conditions.  For  ere  now  mighty  earthquakes  have 
rent  the  earth  in  diverse  places,  and  violent  rains  have 
burst  forth  and  flooded  it,  and  the  inroads  and  withdrawals 

^  Cp.  de  Mir.  A  use.  846^  19  ff- ;  Plut.  Pericles  2)1  ;  Cic.  Tusc.  i.  15,  34  ; 
Val.  Max.  viii.  14.  6  ;  and  for  the  Strangford  shield,  which  is  a  copy 
of  the  shield  of  the  Athena  Parthenos,  see  A.  H.  Smith,  Cat.  of  Gk. 
Sculpture  in  the  Brit.  Mus.  i,  no.  302. 

*  ovpavcii  is  here  deri\-ed  from  opos-,  '  boundary  '. 

^  "OAu/LtTTo?  is  here  derived  from  oXos  and  Xiifinew,  'to  shine'. 

'  0(1.  vi.  42-45.  ^  //.  XV.  192. 


CHAITI.R  6  400'' 

of  waves  have  often  tumcd  the  ili}-  laiul  iiU<>  sea  and  sea 
into  dry  land,  and  the  might  of  winds  and  hurricanes  has 
sometimes  overthrown  whole  cities,  and  fires  and  flames  have 
consumed  the  earth,  either  cominj^  forth  from  heaven  in  ;,o 
former  times,  even  as  men  say  that  in  the  tla)s  of  Phaethon 
they  burnt  up  the  eastern  re<^ions  of  the  earth,  or  else 
ijushing  forth  and  breathinij  from  the  earth  in  the  west, 
as  when  the  craters  of  l.tna  burst  and  flowed  like  a  torrent 
over  the  earth.  (There  also  the  favour  of  heaven  bestowed  400'' 
especial  honour  upon  the  c^eneration  of  the  pious,  when  they 
were  overtaken  b)'  the  fiery  stream,  because  they  were 
carr\inrj  their  aged  parents  upon  their  shoulders  and  seeking 
to  save  them.  For  when  the  river  of  fire  drew  near  to 
them,  it  was  parted  asuntler  and  turned  part  of  its  flame 
this  way  and  part  that  wa>-,  and  preserved  the  young  men  5 
and  their  parents  unscathed.') 

To  sum  up  the  matter,  as  is  the  steersman  in  the  ship, 
the  charioteer  in  the  chariot,  the  leader  in  the  chorus,  law 
in  the  cit)-,  the  general  in  the  army,  even  so  is  God  in  the 
I'niverse ;  save  that  to  them  their  rule  is  full  of  weariness 
and  disturbance  and  care,  while  to  him  it  is  without  toil  or  10 
labour  and  free  from  all  bodily  weakness.  I-'or,  enthroned 
amitl  the  immutable,  he  moves  and  revolves  all  things, 
where  and  how  he  will,  in  different  forms  and  natures  ;  just 
as  the  law  of  a  cit}',  fixed  and  immutable  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  are  under  it,  orders  all  the  life  of  the  state.  For  15 
in  obedience  to  it,  it  is  plain,  the  magistrates  go  forth  to 
their  duties,  the  judges  to  their  several  courts  of  justice, 
the  councillors  and  members  of  the  assembly  to  their 
appointed  places  of  meeting,  and  one  man  proceeds  to  his 
mc.ils  in  the  prytaneum,  another  to  make  his  ilefence  before  jo 
the  jury,  and  another  to  die  in  prison.  So  too  the  custo- 
mary public  feasts  and  yearly  festivals  take  place,  and 
sacrifices  to  the  gods  and  worship  of  herc^es  and  libations 
in  honour  of  the  dead.  The  various  activities  of  the 
citizens  in  obedience  to  one  orilin.mce  or  lawful  authority 
.ire  well  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  poet, 

And  all  the  town  is  full  of  incense  smoke,  »5 

And  full  of  cries  for  aid  and  loud  laments.' 
'  I  p.  I-ycurg.  in  Leo.r.  95   96.  *  Soph.  O.  T.  ^,  5. 


400^^  DE    MUNDO 

So  must  we  suppose  to  be  the  case  with  that  greater 
city,  the  universe.  For  God  is  to  us  a  law,  impartial, 
admitting  not  of  correction  or  change?,  and  better,  me- 
30  thinks,  and  surer  than  those  which  are  engraved  upon 
tablets.  Under  his  motionless  ^  and  harmonious  rule  the 
whole  ordering  of  heaven  and  earth  is  administered,  extend- 
ing over  all  created  things  through  the  seeds  of  life  in  each 
both  to  plants  and  to  animals,  according  to  genera  and 
401^  species.  For  vines  and  date-palms  and  peach-trees  and 
'  sweet  fig-trees  and  olives '  ^,  as  the  poet  says,  and  trees 
which,  though  they  bear  no  fruits,  have  other  uses,  plane- 
trees  and  pines  and  box-trees, 

Alder  and  poplar-tree  and  cypress  breathing  sweet  odours,^ 

5  and  trees  which  produce  autumn  crops  pleasant   but  also 
difficult  to  store, 

Pear-trees  and  pomegranate-trees  and  apple-trees  glorious- 
fruited,^ 

and  animals,  both  wild    and  tame,   feeding  in  the  air  or 
on  the  earth  or  in  the  water,  all  are  born  and  come  to 

10  their  prime  and  decay  in  obedience  to  the  ordinances  of 
God  ;  for,  in  the  words  of  Heraclitus,  '  every  creeping  thing 
grazes  at  the  blow  of  God's  goad  '.^  ^ 

God  being  one  yet  has  many  names,  being  called  after  7 
all    the  various  conditions  which  he    himself  inaugurates. 
We  call  him  Zen  and  Zeus,  using  the  two  names  in  the 

15  same  sense,  as  though  we  should  say  'him  through  whom 
we  live'.^  He  is  called  the  son  of  Kronos  and  of  Time,  for 
he  endures  from  eternal  age  to  age.  He  is  God  of  Light- 
ning and  Thunder,  God  of  the  Clear  Sky  and  of  Ether, 
God  of  the  Thunderbolt  and  of  Rain,  so  called  after  the 
rain  and  the  thunderbolts  and  other  physical  phenomena. 
Moreover,  after  the  fruits  he   is   called   the   Fruitful   God, 

20  after  cities  the  City-God  :  he  is  God  of  Birth,  God  of  the 
House-court,  God  of  Kindred    and   God  of  our   Fathers 

^  Reading  nKtj/jyTcos- with  O.  ^  Od?,  xv.  116. 

^  ib.  V.  64.  *  ib.  xi.  589. 

^  Reading  TrXr^-yj;  for  ti]v  -y/>  with  Diels,  Vorsokr?  i,  p.  80,  1.  8. 
^  i.e.  Zeus  is  here  derived  from  ^^v,  'to  live',  and  its  accusative  Am, 
apparently,  from  the  preposition  Sui. 


ciiArii:k  7  401" 

from  liis  participation  in  sucli  lhini;s.  lie  is  God  of  Com- 
radeship anil  I'Vicndship  and  Ilospitalits',  God  of  Armies 
and  of  Trophies,  God  of  I'urificalion  ami  of  Vengeance  and 
of  Supplication  and  of  I'ropitiation,  as  the  poets  name 
him,  and  in  very  triitli  the  Saviour  and  God  of  hVeedom, 
and  to  complete  tiie  tale  of  his  titles,  God  of  I  leaven  and  -'5 
of  the  World  Helow,  deriving  his  names  from  all  natural 
phenomena  and  conditions,  inasmuch  as  he  is  himself  the 
cause  of  all  things.  Wherefore  it  is  well  said  in  the  Orphic 
Hymns, 

Zeus  of  the  flashing  bolt  was  the  fust  to  he  horn  and 

the  latest, 
Zeus   is   the   head  and   the   middle  ;  of  Zeus  were  all 

things  created  : 
Zeus  is  the  stay  of  the  earth  and  the  stay  of  the  star-  4°^ 

s[)anglctl  heaven  ; 
Zeus  is  male  and  female  of  sex.  the  bride  everlasting; 
Zeus  is  the  breath  (jf  all  and  the  rush  of  unwearying  fire  ; 
Zeus  is  the  root  of  the  sea,  and  the  sun  and   the  moon 

in  the  heavens ; 
Zeus  of  the  flashing  bolt  is  the  king  and  the  ruler  of  5 

all  men, 
Hilling  them  all  awa\',  anil  again  to  the  glad   light  of 

he.iven 
Bringing   them   back   at   his  will,    performing   terrible 

marvels.* 

I  think  also  that  God  and  nought  else  is  meant  when 
we  s[)eak  of  Necessity,  which  is  as  it  were  invincible - 
being;  and  h'.itc,  because  his  action  is  continuous-'  and  he 
c.mnot  be  stayed  in  his  course;  and  Hestin}',*  because  all  'o 
things  have  their  bounds,  and  nothing  which  exists  is 
infinite;  and  Lot.  from  the  fact  that  all  things  are  allotted; 
anil  NeuR'sis,'*  from  the  app(;rtionment  which  is  made  to 
every  individual ;  and  Adrasteia,'  which  is  a  cause  ordainetl 
by  nature  which  cannot  be  escapeil  ;  ami  Dispensation,''  so 

'    K.iibcl,  Orphua,  46. 

'  'Ai-.i-,«!;,  'necessity',  is  here  derived  from  <j»i«fjr<u,  '  insinciblc '. 
Ki^.i^i>m-f;,  'fate',  from  t'^mif,  '  to  plait  to^jutlicr', 

•  Utit^^i»!],  '  dc&tiny  ',  from  «-«^JiroOr,  '  to  Jxjiind  '. 
'  Miii^Mi,  'lot*,  from  fiif)i^tn-,  'to  allot'. 

*  Si'ntatf,  from  ►«/i«ir,  *  to  apportion  *. 

^  ' .Ki^HiuTna,  from  II-,  '  not',  and  fnfi^iTKHf,  '  to  run  away  '. 
\iiTa,  'dispensation  ',  from  ü«l  oZaa,  'ever  existing'. 


40i^  DE   MUNDO 

called  because  it  exists  for  ever.  What  is  said  of  the  Fates 
15  and  their  spindle  tends  to  the  same  conclusion  ;  for  they 
are  three,  appointed  over  different  periods  of  time,  and  the 
thread  on  the  spindle  is  part  of  it  already  spent,  part 
reserved  for  the  future,  and  part  in  the  course  of  being 
spun.  One  of  the  Fates  is  appointed  to  deal  with  the 
past,  namely,  Atropos,  for  nothing  that  is  gone  by  can  be 
20  changed  ^ ;  Lachesis  is  concerned  with  the  future,  for  ces- 
sation ^  in  the  course  of  nature  awaits  all  things ;  Clotho 
presides  over  the  present,  accomplishing  and  spinning  ^  for 
each  his  own  particular  destiny.  This  fable  is  well  and 
duly  composed.  All  these  things  are  nought  else  but  God, 
even  as  worthy  Plato  tells  us.* 
25  God,  then,  as  the  old  story  has  it,  holding  the  beginning 
and  the  end  and  the  middle  of  all  things  that  exist,  pro- 
ceeding by  a  straight  path  in  the  course  of  nature  brings 
them  to  accomplishment ;  and  with  him  ever  follows 
Justice,  the  avenger  of  all  that  falls  short  of  the  Divine 
Law — Justice,  in  whom  may  he  that  is  to  be  be  happy,  be 
from  the  very  first  a  blessed  and  happy  partaker ! 

^  "ArpoTToy,  from  d-,  '  not ',  and  Tpiireiv,  '  to  turn  '. 
^  Art;^€o-i$-,  from  Xr'jyeiu,  '  to  cease  '. 
^  KXcoöcb,  from  K\o)Bfiv,  '  to  spin  '. 

*  The  reference  appears  to  be  to  the  account  of  the  Fates  given  in 
the  Vision  of  Er  (Plato,  AV/.  617  c). 


I\l)l-X 


l»-9»»  =  301'  109^     oo*-oi''  "  400*  401''. 


Acropolis,  y''  34. 

Atlrastcia.  oi'Mj. 

Adrialic,  3*  2Ü. 

AcKC-m.  3"  30- 

Aeolian  Islands,  5'*  21. 

Aerial  element,  see  Air. 

Air.  aerial  clement,  2^  5   14,  32,  3*2. 

6'' 29,  9'' 24. 
Albion  (Circat  IJritain),  3'' 1 2. 
Alexander,  1*2. 
Aloadac,  fll. 
Animals,    movements  of  different, 

S»»  30-35. 
Antarctic  pole,  2*4. 
Aparctias,  4'' 29,  32. 
A|>elioti-s,  4''  23. 
Aphrodite,  2'2J^. 
Apollo,  2*27. 
Arabian.  ( iuif  (Red  Sea).  3''l6,  28  ; 

Sea  (Erythraean),  3'' 4  ;  Isthmus, 

3»'2S.  32. 
Arch,  keystone  of  an,  9''  30. 
Arctic  pole,  2»  3. 
Ares,  2' 35. 
Arrestes,  4'' 25,  30. 
Armies,  l.od  of,  oi'  22. 
Army.  Universe  compared  to  an, 

9»'  I  tr. 

Arts,  analogy  of  the,  ö**!!,  S**  14- 

16. 
Asia.    3'' 22,    4*3,    8*27,    35;     its 

boundaries,  3''26-3l. 
Athena  I'arthenos,  9"  34. 
Atlantic,  2'' 22,  27,  3*16. 
Atropos,  Ol*' 18. 
Axis  (of  the  Universe),  i''26. 

•  Barrels ',  5»' 12. 

I'.i.Ki.n    rtrcs,    I'ersian   system  of, 

h'  ',1-35. 
'  r.>  .iiumg  Star',  'the*,  2*  24. 
'  I;«-. mis',  2'' 4.  5''I2. 
r.rllowmK,  subterranean,  6*13. 
l>mh.  (ioti  of,  (Zeusi,  01' 20;  and 

decay  on  the  earth,  7''  ^   '   ■  *  '^ 

29. 


I'.lizzaril.  4'' I. 

Holt,  see  Thundirbolt. 

Horeas,  4''  20,  28,  29,  5»  3,  4. 

I5reatli,  4*' 9- 12. 

Hrcezts,  4»  17,  »»13,  7*34. 

Britain,  Hritish  Isles,  3'' I  2,  17. 

Hura,  6*  21. 

Caecias,  4'*  22,  28,  5"!. 
Cambay.  C.ulf  of  (?),  3'' 3. 
Cambyses.  8»  1 1. 
Caspian  district,  3'' 6. 
Celts,  I.md  of  the,  3'' 9,  13. 
Ceylon  ('l'oprol)anc  1,  3*^14. 
Chorus,    harmony   in    a,  9*15-18; 

chorus-leader,  Ciod  compared  to 

a,  9"  1 9,  oo*"  7. 
Circias,  4''  31. 
City,  the  Universe  compared  to  a, 

6''  I  ff.,  00'' 8,  14-30. 
Cit>'-god,  the,  (Zeus),  01'  20. 
Clear  Sky,  4»  22,  24  ;  (iod  of  th«-, 

(Zeus»,  01»  17. 
Clolho,  Ol*' 21. 
Cloud,  2''  9,  4*  16,  21,  23,  26,  28, 29, 

33,  *'6,  17,  5"»  I,  '2,  15,  33- 
'  Cloud  winds  ',  4''  18. 
Comets.  2»*  4,  5*32,  ''89. 
Comradeship,  God  of,(Zcus),  oi»22. 
Consonants,  6'' 18. 
Continents,  our  world  one  of  many, 

2'' 20,  3»  10. 
Contraries,  in  the  I'niversc,  6*  34  ; 

in  a  city.  6'*  2  4 ;  harmony  evolved 

out  of,  G**  8,  1 1 ,  23-  25  ;  nature  has 

a  liking  for,  6'' 7. 
Corsica,  3'  13. 
Corycian  cave,  I'  21. 
Creator.  C,od  as.  7'' 1 3  24. 
Cretan  Sea,  3»  29. 
Crete,  3»  1 3. 

Cronos,  2»  24.  9»  1 1 ,  01'  1  5. 
Cutch.  CuUof  {?),  3"  3. 
Cyc  lades,  3'  14. 
Cyprus,  3»  1 3. 
Cymus  (Corsica),  3*  13. 


INDEX 


Darius,  8=*II, 

Decay,    birth   and,   on   the   earth, 

7^3-5,  9^28,  29. 
Delphi,  5'' 29. 
Destiny,  01^  10. 
Dew,  4^15,  23,  26,  9*25. 
'  Dew-frost ',  4^  26. 
Disordered  element,  the,  (fire),  2^2. 
Dispensation,  01^14. 
Dissimilarity,     similarity     evolved 

from,  6^  5. 
Divine  Law,  01^28. 

Earth,  the,  V' g,  2^29,  1^14,  3=^2, 
^27,  30,  7*24-^5,  8^10,  9'^  24, 
oo^'  23  ;  the  centre  of  the  Uni- 
verse, 1^12,  2*^33,  00^5  ;  God's 
rule  of,  7^^29-8'^  7;  phenomena 
in  and  around,  4^  7  ff.,  9^  25-30  ; 
sources  of  water,  wind,  and  fire 
in,  s^  18  ff. 

Earthquakes,  5'' 33 -6*  16,  7=^28, 
31,  oo'^  25  ;  'bellowing',  ö^^ii; 
'  gaping  ',  6*  4  ;  '  heaving  ',  6*  3  ; 
'  horizontal',  6*  l;  'rending  ',  ö'*  5  ; 
'thrusting',  6*8;  'vibrating', 
6*  10. 

'  Earth-storm ',  si^io. 

East  winds,  4^  20,  22-24,  33- 

Ecbatana,  8=^  14,  34. 

Egypt,  4M. 

Egyptian  Sea,  3^29. 

Elements,  I'^io,  3*1,  6^28;  their 
agreement  in  the  Universe,  6''  2  5- 
7*  5.  See  also  A/r,  Earth,  Ether, 
Fire,  Water. 

Empedocles  quoted,  9^25-28. 

Equality  preserves  harmony,  7^  3. 

Erythraean  (Arabian)  Sea,  3'^  4. 

Eternal,  God  is,  oi'^iö. 

Etesian  winds,  5=^  2. 

Ether,  ethereal  element,  2^  i,  6'^  27  ; 
its  nature,  2*31,  32;  is  the  sub- 
stance of  the  stars  and  heaven, 
2*  5  ;  surrounds  the  heavenly 
bodies,  2=^30;  its  motion,  2*8, 
^2  ;  etymology  of  the  word,  2^6-8, 

Etna,  5^21,  oca  33. 

Euboea,  3^*13. 

Euronotus,  4*^33. 

Europe,  3^22  ;  its  boundaries, 3'^  23- 
26. 

Eurus,  4^*20  22,  24,  33. 

Exhalations,  4'*  9-^  18,  7'*23. 

Fate,  01  ^^9. 

Fates,  the,  01^14-24. 


Fathers,  God  of  Our,  (Zeus),  01^  21. 

'  Fiery  Star ',  the,  2^  25,  9^  q. 

Fire,  fiery  element,  2'''33-'^5,  3^3, 
5^'  20,  6^  30,  7*  23,  29,  ^I,  2, 00^29, 
30;  darting  fires,  2^3;  subter- 
ranean fires,  5''  19  ff. 

Fixed,  stars,  2*10,  11,  23,  lights  in 
the  sky,  5154,  7. 

Flashes  in  the  sky,  5^*31. 

Floods,  7^  29,  00^^26,  27.  See  also 
Tidal  %vaves. 

Freedom,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01^24. 

Friendship,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01'' 22. 

Frost,  4^16,  7^1  ;  hoar-frost,  4^26  ; 
'dew-frost',  4=*  26. 

Fruitful  God,  the,  (Zeus),  01=^  19. 

Gallic  Sea,  3''' 27,  ''9. 

Geographers,  ■^  20. 

General,  God  compared  to  a,  00''  8. 

'  Glistening  Star ',  the,  2^  26. 

God,  his  position  in  the  Universe, 
7^  9ff.,  9^  28  ff. ;  his  rule  over  the 
earth,  7^  29-8=*  7, 00^9-1 1,  27-34 ; 
is  eternal,  01*16,  supreme,  7'^  26 ; 
as  creator,  7'' 13-24;  the  nature 
of  his  power,  8''  8-10,  19,  22,  ''i  i- 
28  ;  needs  no  help  from  others, 
8'Mo-i6  ;  brings  all  things  to  ac- 
complishment, 01'' 25-27  ;  dwells 
in  the  highest  part  of  the  Uni- 
verse, 7^26,  27,  8'' 7,  00=^4-21  ; 
compared  to  a  chorus  leader, 
9"' 19,  00^' 7,  to  a  general,  oo'^  8, 
to  human  law,  00^8, 14-30,  to  the 
keystone  of  an  arch,  9^  30,  to 
the  King  of  Persia,  8'^  i  iff.,  to  a 
steersman,  00^6;  identified  with 
Adrasteia,  01'' 13,  with  Destiny, 
01 '^10,  with  Dispensation,  01'^  14, 
with  Fate,  01*' 9,  with  the  Fates, 
01^14-24,  with  Lot,  01^12,  with 
Necessity,  oi'^8,  with  Nemesis, 
01^12;  his  various  titles,  01-^12- 
27. 

'Gulf  winds',  4^^  15. 

Gusts  of  wind,  5^6.  . 

Hail,  21^11,  4=^16,^1-5. 

Halo,  5*  36- '^3. 

Harmony,  evolved  out  of  contraries, 
6*^8,  II,  23-25;  preserved  by 
equality,  "j^  3  ;  in  music,  6'^  15-17, 
9*15-18;  in  the  Universe,  6" 
23-7'*  5>  9*12,  00=^4. 

Heaven,  1*^9,  6"^  28,  7*9,  8'' 9,  9*20; 
the  highest  part  of  the  Universe, 


INDEX 


i''l6;  composed  of  ether,  2*5; 
is  spherical,  l  *•  20 ;  its  movement, 
l**  17-19  ;  Ciod  of  H.,  (Zeiisi,  oi» 

25. 
HeUce,  6»  21. 
Helles(K>nt,  3''  i,  8»  27. 
llcra,  :»28. 
Heracles,   2*35;    I'illars   of,  3*18, 

-4,  »MO,  23,  32,  4*1. 
Ilcradilus    quoted,    6'' 20  22,   oi» 

10  1 1, 
llcnnrs,  2*  26,  9*9. 
Hoar-frost,  2''  10,  4"  26. 
Homer  quoted,  7''27,  oo*  10-14,  19, 

01»  4,  7. 
Hospitahty,  (i«xl  of,  (Zeus),  01*  22. 
House-court,   God  of  the,    (Zeus), 

01»  20. 
Hurricane,  2''  1 1,  4**  iS,  00"  29. 
Hyrcanian,  district.  3*^6 ;  Sea,  3''  24, 


lapyx,  4''  26. 

Iberia,  3''  16. 

Ice.  4*  25. 

lerne  (Ireland),  3^  13. 

India,  3''  15. 

Indian  (iulf,  V'3- 

Indus,  8' 28. 

intelliijcncc,  9'*  13. 

Ireland  (lerne),  3''  1 3. 

Island,  our  contment  is  an,  2»*  21, 

3''  i8  ;  names  of  islands,  3"  9- 1 5, 

•'11-17;   islands  at  the  mouth  of 

the  Nile,  4»  3. 
Isthmus,   between    Hyrcanian   Sea 

and   I'ontus,    ^»'25-27;   Arabian. 

3"  28,  32. 

Justice,  Ol''  27. 

Keystone  of  an  arch,  9*'  30. 
Kindred,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01*  21. 
Kint;  of  Persia,  8*  10,  30,  '•i. 

I.achesis,  ot»*  20. 

•  Land  winds',  4*»  14. 

lathe,  turner's,  l^  22. 

Law,   9**  18;    divine    law,   oi*"  28  ; 

(io<i    compared    to    human    law, 

CO»»  8,  14-30. 
I.r!>adia,  5»*  29. 
l.-l.os.  3«i4. 
I  1'' 'ni>tus,  4*'  34. 
I  I'l   phixmix,  4'' 34. 
I  I'ly  I,  ^^22:  its  boundaries,  3**  31- 

4'  •;■ 


'  Li^ht-bearinj,'  star',  the,  2*27, 
9"  8. 

Li>;htning,  2*'  12,  4»  18,  5*  15  ; 
reaches  our  perception  before 
thunder,  5"  16-21  ;  'forked',  5* 
27 ; '  smouldering ',  5"  26 ;  '  swoop- 
ing *,  5»  28  ;  '  vivid  ',  5»  27  ;  Zeus, 
^od  of  1...  oi*  17. 

Lights  in  the  .sky,  5'^  3   iS. 

I.ipara,  5''  21. 

I.ips,  4'' 27,  34. 

Lot,  01*'  12. 

M.ieotis,  3*32,  ''S. 
Mist,  4"  15,  19,  23. 
Moisture,   7*22  ;    element    of   M., 

2'' 30,  4M  4. 
Moon,  2"»  29,  5"  33,  ''2,  6'' 28,  7*  10, 

8'' 9,  9»  6,  7,  00"  2 1  ;   its  effect  on 

tides,  6*  26,  27. 
Motion,     movement,    of    different 

animals,  8'' 30-35  ;  of  the  heavens, 

1*  17-19,  00*21-23  ;   "f  spheres, 

cubes,   cones,  and  cylinders,  S»* 

27-29;  in  the  universe,  i''2o,  24, 

S*»  20-27,  9'  3--34- 
Mud,  thrown    up   by  earthquakes, 

6»  6. 
.Music,   harmony    in,  6'' 15-17,  9* 

15-18. 
Myrtoan  Sea,  3"  30. 

Nature  has  a  liking  for  contraries, 

6'»  7. 
Necessity,  01 ''8. 
Nemesis,  01''  12. 
Nile,  the,  3'' 31,  4"!.  =• 
North,  pole,  2*  i  -5,  4''  29  ;  wind,  4'' 

20,  28-31,  5'3,  4- 
Nolus,  4»'2i,  31-34,  5'l. 
Nysa,  1*  21. 

'Obscure',   'the',    Heracleitus,  6** 

20. 
Ocean,  3*  17,  '»3,  11,  30. 
Olympus,  oo»  7,  1 1 . 
Oracles,  5»"  28. 
Ornithian  winds,  5*4. 
Orphic  Hymn,  oi»  28-''7. 
Ossa,  I*  21. 

Paintin)^',  the  art  of,  f>''  12   15. 
Palace  of  the  i'.rcn  Kin^;,  8*  15    iS. 
Pamphylian  Sea,  3*30. 
Persia,  King  of,  8*  10,  30,  '»I. 
Persian  (iulf,  3'' 3. 
Phaeihon,  oo»  31. 


INDEX 


Phebol,  3IM5. 

Pheidias,  9''  32, 

Philosophy,  1*2,  11,  ''7. 

Piety  towards  parents,  00=*  34-^6. 

Pillars  of  Heracles,  3^*18,  24,  '^lo, 

23,  32,  4^  I. 
'Pits',  2^4,  5*^12. 
Planets,  2=»  I3ff. 
Plato,  01^24. 

Plurality,  unity  evolved  from,  6^  5. 
Poles,  arctic  and  antarctic,  2^  1-5  ; 

north  p.,  4^^  29  ;  south  p.,  4''  31. 
Pontus,  3^  30,  ^^24,  25,  27. 
Prayer,  attitude  of,  oo'»'  17. 
Propitiation,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01*  24. 
Propontis,  3^  I. 
Prytaneum,  00''  19. 
Puppet-showman,  8^  16-19, 
Purification,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01^^23. 

Rain,  7^  33,  9*  24,  00=^  26  ;  Zeus, 
God  of  r.,  01*18;  rain-storms, 
2^  10,  4^  16,  27-32  ;  '  rain-winds  ', 
4^19. 

Rainbow,  5*30,  32-36,  ''i. 

Red  Sea  (Arabian  Gulf),  3^^  16,  28. 

Sardinia,  ^^  13. 

Sardinian  Sea,  3'^27. 

Saviour,  the,  (Zeus),  01^^24. 

Scythians,  3'^  8. 

Sea,  2^  14,  6'^  27,  9^  27 ;  phenomena 
occurring  in,  6^  17-27  ;  names  of 
seas,  3^  16-^22. 

Shield  of  Athena  Parthenos,  9*^35. 

'Shining  Star',  the,  2*23. 

Shocks,  5^  33.  See  also  Earth- 
quakes. 

Shooting,  stars,   5*32;    lights,   5'' 

4-7. 

Shower,  4*31. 

Sicilian  sea,  3'"^  28. 

Sicily,  3=^  12. 

Similarity  evolved  from  dissimi- 
larity, 6*5. 

Sky,  clear,  4*  22,  24 ;  Zeus,  God  of 
the  Clear  Sky,  oi'^  17. 

Snow,  2'Mo,  4^  16,  32  '^i. 

Society,  organization  of,  9'^  14-19. 

Sophocles  quoted,  00^^25-26. 

South,  pole,  2=^1-5,  4'' 31;  wind, 
4^21,31-35,  5^^  I. 

Sporades,  3*  14. 

Springs,  hot,  5^  24  ;  caused  by 
earthquakes,  6^6,  7. 

Squall,  5'^  5. 

Stars,  i^M7,  5=^36-1'!,  8,  7*9,  9*8- 


1 1 ,  20,  00^  2 1 ;  composed  of  ether, 
2*5;  movement  of,  2*14,  15; 
names  of,  2*i9ff.  ;  fixed  stars, 
2*10,  II,  23,  are  unnumbered, 
2*18;  planets,  2*  13  ff. ;  shooting 
stars,  5*  32. 
Steersman,    God    compared   to   a. 

Storms,  7*  23,  GO*  9. 

Streaks  in  the  sky,  5*  31,  35. 

Sun,  2*  29,  5*  33,  '^2,  6^  27,  7*  9,  8^  8, 

9*8,  21,  00*21. 
Supplication,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01*  23. 
Supremacy  of  God,  7*^26. 
Susa,  8*  14,  34. 
Syrian  Sea,  3*30. 
Syrtes,  3*25. 

Tanais,  3^26,  30. 

Taprobane  (Ceylon),  3^  14. 

Thracias,  4'^  30. 

Thunder,  4*18,  5*11-14;  perceived     \ 

after  lightning,  5*  16-21  ;  God  of 

T.,  (Zeus),  01*  17. 
Thunderbolt,  2^'  12,  4*  18,  5*21-25, 

7*21,   01*18;    God  of   the   T., 

(Zeus),  01*  17. 
Tidal  waves,  6*  18-21,  26,  00*  26. 
Tides  affected  by  the  moon,  6*  26, 27. 
Time,  Zeus  is  son  of,  01*  15. 
'Torches',  5'Mi. 
Toi'nado,  5*  7. 
Trade  winds,  5*  2, 
Trophies,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01*23. 
Tropics,  the,  2*  12. 

Unity  evolved  out  of  plurality,  6^  5. 

Universe,  the,  1*25,  26,  2^^  33,  35; 
its  composition,  i''  9  fif.,  3*1-4; 
its  movement,  i''2o,  24,  7*15,  9* 
32-34 ;  made  up  of  contrary 
principles,  6*34,  ^24,  25  ;  organi- 
zation of,  9*  1  ff. ;  God  and  the 
U.,  7''9fF.,  00*^7  ff.;  God  as  creator 
of  the  U.,  7'^  13-24  ;  harmony  in 
the  U.,  6'^  23-7*  5,  9*12,  00*4; 
the  ordered  U.,  9*13-14,  its 
beauty,  7*6,  its  greatness,  swift- 
ness, radiance,  and  eternity,  7* 
14-17  ;  parent  of  all  things,  7*4, 
19;  is  spherical,  1*^19;  its  axis, 
1*^26;  compared,  to  an  army, 
9^^  I  ff.,  to  a  city,  6"^  i  ff. 

V^engeance,  God  of,  (Zeus),  01*  23. 
Vents,  vent-holes  in  the  earth,  5*^  20, 
27,  7*32. 


INDEX 


Volcanoes,  5*»  2 1  23,  oo»33. 
Vowels,  0^  iS. 

Water,  element  of  \V.,2''3o,  3»  2, 
6*' 30,  9'' 24  ;  subterranean  äuurces 
of,  5''  ly  if.     See  also  Afoistun-. 

Waves,  tidal,  6*  kS  21,  26,  00*26. 

West  winds,  4'*  20,  25-2i>,  5"  3. 

Whirlwind,  5*7. 

Whiteness  of  snow,  cause  of,  4*34, 

35- 
Wind,  4*17,  »-13,  7''2i.  32,  y»24. 
oo"y;  how  caused.  4'' 7-y;  blasts 
of,  2''!  I,  5*5-J>;  various  types  ol". 
5"  5-16;  'clouil  winds',  4''  iS; 
'  Kull  winds  ',  4*»  I  5  ;  "land  winds', 
4'' 14:  'rain  winds',  4'' ly  ;  sub- 
terranean winds,  5^'  ly  ;  names  of 
winils  :  .Aparctias  4'' 29,  32,  ,\pe- 
liotes  4'' 23,  .-\rgestes  4'' 25,  30, 
Boreas  4**  20,  28,  29,  5'  3,  4, 
Caecias  4'' 22,  28,  5»  i,  Circias 
4**  31,  Ktesian  5"  2,  Euronotus 
4'' 33»    l-ur^s   4»«  20,    32,   24,   33, 


l.ipyx  4*26,  I.ibonotus  4'' 34, 
LibophiK-nix  4'"  34,  Lips  4'*  27,  34, 
Not  us  4''2i,  31  34, 3»i,Olympias 
4''  26,  Drnithian  5"  4,  Thracias 
4''  30,  Zephyrus  4*»  20,  25,  26,  5»  3. 

World,  the  inhabited,  2''20,  31,3' 
10,  ''18,  4'' 5 ;  its  dimensions, 
3''  18   21  ;  its  divisit)ns,  3'' 22. 

World  IJelow,  (lod  of  the,  (Zeusi, 
01' 25. 

\\  riting,  the  art  of.  6'*  18. 

Xerxes,  8»  11,  *'4. 

Zen,  01"  14. 

Zephyrus,  4'' 20,  25,  26,  5»  3. 

Zeus,  2*25,  9' 10,  CO*  19,   01*14; 

etymology  of  the  wonl,  01*15; 

his     various     titles,     01*  12-27  \ 

Orphic    Hymn    describing,    01* 

12-27. 
Zodiac,    circle   of    the,    2*  1 1 ,    12: 

signs  of  the,  2*  13. 


DE    S  P  1  R  I  T  U 


nv 


J.  F.  DOHSON 

TRUFESSOR   OF   GREKK    IN    TUE    UNIVERSITY   OK    BRISTOL 


OXFORD 

AT  TUK  CLAKKNDON   PRl'.SS 

1914 


OXFORD   UNIVERSITY    PRESS 


LONDON         EDINBURGH        GLASGOW        NEW    YORK 
TORONTO  MELBOURNE  BOMBAY 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD  M.A. 

PUBLISHER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


pRi:i-.\rr. 

This  treatise  has  been  rejected  as  spurious  by  practically 
all  editors,  one  of  the  chief  reasons  bein^  the  confusion  of 
the  senses  assij^ncd  to  upTrjpia.  It  is  sometimes  ascribed 
to  Theophrastus.  Its  author  had  certainly  studied  the 
Aristotelian  Corpus,  and  analogies  m.iy  be  traced  to  the 
(/r  Ri'spiratiofir  and  some  of  the  /.oological  treatises. 

The  earliest  attempt  to  elucidate  its  numerous  difficullics 
was  made  by  Daniel  Furlan,  who  in  160',  appended  a  text 
with  comments  and  a  Latin  translation  to  the  edition  of 
Theophrastus  of  which  he  and  Adrian  Turnebus  were  joint 
editors.  He  apologizes  for  his  temerity  in  approaching 
this  work,  ''quod  Julius  Caesar  Scaligcr,  vir  extra  com- 
mutiem  iugcniorum  alcaui  posifus,  frustra  convertcre  et 
comtueutariis  ex/>/auare  conafus  sit'.  Jaeger,  the  latest 
editor,  calls  the  author  'a  second  Ileraclitus  '. 

The  text,  as  given  in  Hekker's  edition,  is  often  untrans- 
latable, and  the  Latin  version  in  the  s.inie  Corpus,  l)\-  an 
anonjmous  author,  is  a  free  paraphrase,  baseil  in  some 
cases  on  a  dilVerent  text.  Its  seeming  fluency  often  conceals 
difficulties  without  explaining  them.  The  emended  text 
in  the  Didot  edition  is  more  intelligible,  and  the  translation 
gives  some  help  ;  but  many  pa>.sagc>  remain  in  a  hopeless 
state.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  lie  Spiritu  was 
omitted  by  Harthelemy  Saint-Hilairc  from  his  translation 
of  all  .Aristotle. 

Since  this  version  was  in  proof,  a  new  edition  of  the  text 
has  appeared  by  \V.  W.  Jaeger  (Teubner,  IQI.O«  ^ ''*-' 
editor  has  taken  from  Furlan  and  others  many  useful  con- 
jectures, and  added  some  of  his  own.  Though  in  some 
cases  his  corrections  appear  unnecessary,  the  new  text  is 


iv  PREFACE 

so  great  an  improvement  on  Bekker  that  it  has  seemed 
desirable  to  adapt  this  translation  to  the  text  of  Jaeger's 
edition. 

No  amount  of  emendation  will  remove  the  incoherence 
of  the  work,  which  must  be  regarded  rather  as  a  collection 
of  Problems  than  as  a  finished  treatise. 

My  best  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  W.  D.  Ross,  of  Oriel 
College,  for  numerous  suggestions  and  criticisms  which 
have  helped  me  greatly.  I  have  also  to  thank  Mr.  R.  W. 
Livingstone,  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  for  his 
kindness  in  allowing  me  to  collate  the  MS.  which  is  the 
property  of  his  College. 

J.  F.  D. 


conti:  MS 


Chapter  i. 

The  brcaili,  being  of  bodily  nature,  must  be  maintained  ljy  sonu- 
method  of  nutrition.  Nutriment  may  be  supplied  by  the  blood,  which 
ultimately  nourishes  all  parts  of  the  body.  In  this  case  there  must 
be  a  residue  consequent  on  the  process  of  digestion  ;  how  can  it  be 
excreted  ?  DitVicultics  are  involved  whether  we  assume  th.it  the 
rcsitlue  is  fmcr  or  co.irser  than  the  nutriment. 

CHAI'IEk    2. 

Aristogencs  supposes  that  the  brcatli  digests  the  air  breathed  into 
the  lungs  ;  this  is  to  assume  that  the  breath  is  different  from  the  outside 
air,  and  it  may  indeed  be  coarser.  The  digestion  of  the  air  is  very 
rapid  and  must  be  caused  by  the  bodily  heat.  Respiration  extends 
only  to  the  lungs  ;  how  then  is  air  carried  to  the  lower  parts  ?  Perhaps 
in  the  form  of  a  kind  of  excrement.  There  is  a  difficulty  in  the  case 
of  non-respiratory  creatures — but  perhaps  they  are  f.ilsely  so-called. 
Probably  respiration  of  some  sort  is  necessary  to  all.  Aquatic  animals 
must  take  in  air  with  their  food,  since  no  air  is  contained  in  w.itcr. 

Chapter  3. 

Kmpedocles  and  Democritus  considered  the  process  of  respiration 
but  disregarded  the  purpose  ;  others  assume  even  the  process  as 
obvious.  Its  real  purpose  is  refrigeration.  The  breath  is  uniformly 
distributed  through  the  body,  and  causes  nutrition  of  the  lower  parts 
and,  apparently,  of  the  bones,  though  in  some  parts  wc  can  trace 
no  air-ducts.  These  parts  may  I«  compared  to  plants,  which  live 
and  grow  although  they  tCMJ  have  no  air-ducts. 

Chapikr  4. 

The  three  functions  of  the  breath,  respiration,  pulsation,  and  assimi- 
lation of  nutriment,  are  perceptible  in  diflTcrcnt  degrees  by  sense  or 
reason.  The  motive  principle  of  respiration  is  within,  probably  in 
the  Soul.  Nutrition  is  originated  by  respiration.  Pulsation,  though 
a  function  of  breath,  is  not  connected  with  respiration,  for  variations 
in  respiration  have  no  eflfcct  on  the  pulse.  No  rational  purpose  can 
be  assigned  to  pulsation,  whereas  the  purposes  of  the  other  two 
functions  are  obvious.  It  is  an  open  question  which  of  the  three  if 
actually  earliest. 


VI  CONTENTS 

Chapter  5. 

The  breath  is  carried  to  the  belly  by  a  duct  passing  along  the  loins. 
We  cannot  determine  how  far  this  breath  is  akin  to  Soul.  The  rela- 
tions of  the  internal  to  the  external  air  in  non- respiring  creatures. 
The  warming  and  cooling  of  the  internal  air.  The  breath  is  not  the 
finest  of  all  substances.  It  cannot  pass  through  sinew.  Some 
characteristics  of  sinew  and  skin.  Veins  and  '  arteries  '  connect  with 
the  intestines  and  the  belly,  and  sinews  and  veins  form  connexions 
between  the  bones. 

Chapter  6. 

The  transformation  of  blood  into  flesh.  Sinews  are  nourished  from 
the  bones,  or,  perhaps  more  probably,  bones  from  sinews.  Mode  of 
nutrition  of  flesh.  Blood  is  not  universally  dispersed  through  the 
body  in  all  animals.  Nail  is  formed  from  sinew,  and  perhaps  skin 
from  flesh,  by  a  hardening  process.  Difficulties  connected  with  hard- 
and  soft-shelled  creatures  suggest  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  the  blood 
is  the  universal  nutriment. 

Chapter  7. 

Bones  have  various  functions — motion,  support,  covering,  (S:c.  All 
are  well  adapted  for  their  purposes.  Movable  bones  are  connected 
by  sinews,  and  those  which  have  not  to  move  are  kept  in  place  by 
sinews. 

Chapter  8. 

Physiological  inquiry  must  be  supplemented  by  the  investigation 
of  final  causes.  The  purposes  of  bones,  sinews,  feet,  and  other  parts 
are  various,  but  all  serve  their  proper  ends  :  e.g.  flying  creatures  are 
shaped  in  a  way  appropriate  to  flight. 

Chapter  9. 

The  heat-principle  active  in  our  bodies  produces  different  eflTects 
in  different  creatures,  just  as  the  effect  of  fire  on  difterent  inanimate 
objects  varies.  Nature  uses  fire  as  an  instrument  and  also  as  a 
material.  Nature  is  an  intelligent  agent  and  varies  the  quality  of 
the  substance  upon  which  the  heat  is  to  work,  while  the  variations 
of  the  heat  are  only  quantitative.  We  must  reject  the  hypothesis 
of  Empedocles,  which  would  lead  to  the  belief  that  there  is  no 
difference  of  quality  between,  e.g.,  the  bones  of  various  animals. 


Tlic  tU  Spirilu  is  found  in  ihe  following  MSS. : 

ti)  /T,  Oxonicn^is,  12th  cent.;  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford     con- 
sidered by  Uckkcr  an<l  Jaeger  the  most  important. 

( ;)  /,  P  (2ß^i  an  independent  group  (Jaeger,  Introd.,  p.  xxi). 
/.,  Vati'.-aniis  253,  14th  cent. 
/',  N'aticanus  1339,  1 2th  or  131h  cent, 
(j,  Marcianus  2co,  12th  cent. 
/>,  I'alatinus  \'aticanus  i6r,  15th  or  16th  c-  nt. 


DE  siMRi'rr 

I  WilA  1"  is  the  modo  of  L;ro\vlli  o\'  ihc  ikiIuimI  hicilh  aiul  48*' 
its  mode  of  maintenance?  For  we  sec  that  it  increases  in 
volume  and  stren^tli  in  accordance  with  botli  changes  of 
age  and  the  var>in<^  condition  of  the  body.  May  we  sup- 
pose that  it  increases  as  the  otlicr  parts  do,  through  the 
addition  of  some  substance  to  it  ?  Now  it  is  nutriment 
that  is  tluis  added  to  living  creatures  ;  so  that  we  must  5 
consider  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  nutriment  in  this  case. 

Nutrition  may  result  in  either  of  two  ways — by  means 
of  respiration,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
body,  b\-  the  digestive  process  consequent  on  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  nutriment ;  and  of  the  two  the  process  by 
means  of  the  nutriment '  is  perhaps  the  more  likely  ;  for 
body  is  nourished  b)'  botl)-,  and  the  breath  is  of  the  nature 
of  body. 

What  then  is  the  method  ?  Clearly  we  must  supixisc  «o 
that  the  breath  is  nourished  by  drawing  and  digesting 
nutriment  from  the  vein-system,  for  the  blood  is  the  ulti- 
mate and  univeisal  nutriment.  So  the  breath  receives 
nutriment  int^  »le  hot  element  as  into  its  vessel  and  rc- 
ceptacle.- 

Thc  air^  draws  the  nutriment  and  imparts  the  activity, 
and  applying  to  itself  the  digestive  power  is  the  cause  of 
its  own  growth  and  nutrition.* 

Terhaps  there  is  nothing  absunl  in   this,  but  rather  in  15 
the  proposition  that  the  breath   is  originally  derived  from 
the  nutriment  ;  for  that  which  is  akin  to  the  soul,  as  the 
breath   is,  is  purer— unless  we  were  to  say   that   the  soul 

I.e.  by  digestion,  481»  8. 

(,)mitting  «-11  in  I.   12,  .ind  rciding   rr»(»4exo»'  in  1.   13  (\V.  Ü.  R-). 
Jae>;cr's  sup|>ositi<>n  of  a  lamn.»  is  ihcn  uiincccssarv. 

*  <>»;,>  is  here  identified  with  breath;  contrast  4Sl''4  '>^'- 

•  These  wtirds  are  curiDUS  in  view  of  48;*  16  an>! 
whrre  the  breath  is  sup|M).scd  to  be  fur  the  sake  ol  i   : 
body. 

A*,  n.   «.  li 


48i^  DE   SPIRITU 

itself  is  a  later  product  than  the  body,  arising  when  the 
seeds  are  sorted  out  ^  and  move  towards  the  development 
of  their  nature. 

Again,  if  ^  there  is  some  residue  left  from  all  nutriment, 

20  by  what  passage  is  it  ejected  in  this  case  ?  It  is  not  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  it  is  by  the  process  of  exhalation,  for 
this  succeeds  immediately  to  the  inhalation.^  Clearly  there 
remains  only  the  explanation  that  it  is  through  the  ducts 
of  the  wind-pipe.^ 

The  residue  which  is  secreted  from  it  must  be  either 
finer  or  coarser ;  in  either  case  there  is  a  grave  difficulty  ;  ^ 
if  the  breath  is  assumed  to  be  the  purest  of  all  substances, 
how  can  the  residue  be  finer  than  the  breath  ?  while  if 
it  is  coarser  we  shall  have  to  assume  that  there  are  certain 
ducts  of  larger  size.'' 

25  The  assumption  that  we  take  in  and  expel  the  breath 
by  the  same  ducts  is  again  strange  and  unreasonable. 

Such  then  are  the  questions  raised  by  the  theory  that 
the  breath  is  maintained  and  increased  by  nutriment. 

Aristogenes  supposes  that  the  growth  of  the  breath  is  2 
due  to  respiration,  the  air  being  digested   in   the    lungs  ; 
30  for  the  breath,  he  holds,  is  also  a  form  of  nutriment,  and 
481*'  is  distributed  into  the  various  vessels^  and  "^  the  refuse  is 
ejected  again. 

This  theory  involves  more  difficulties,  for  what  can  cause 
this  digestion?  Apparently  the  breath  digests  itself,  as  it 
digests  other  things  ;  but  this  is  strange  intrinsically,  unless 
the  breath  is  different  from  the  external  air.  If  it  is 
different,  perhaps  the  bodily  warmth  in  it  may  cause 
digestion. 

^  i.  e.  from  the /iiy/xa.     Cf.  flft- Cat'/ö,  iii.  305^4,  of  Empedocles. 

^  Reading  el'  rf . 

■*  Cf.  ch.  ii.  481*^9  evdvs  yap  iiera  tijv  elanvorjv  t]  (Knvorj. 

*  apTrjpias — which  Seems  to  mean  here  17  rpaxe'a  aprTjpln,  the  tracJiea  ; 
but  elsewhere  in  the  treatise  apTtjpiai  must  mean  air-ducts  in  general, 
vz'äe  infra,  482^^  8. 

^  Adopting  the  reading  which  is  assumed  by  the  Latin  translation  : 

liTOTTOv'   61  TOVTn  ,  .  ,  KiidapüiTnTOv,  ^TTWy  XeTTToTfpoi'  ;)  fl  Se  kt\. 

^  Here,  perhaps,  we  should  place  481*^5-8,  '  However  .  .  .  not  con- 
vincing '.  I 
''  Insert  kuI  after  diabiboaßai.                                                                        3 


CHAl'Tl  R  a  481" 

M  low  ever,  it  may  be  reasonably  mainlaincd  thai  the  5 
breath  *  is  coarser  than  the  outside  air,  since  it  is  combincti 
with  the  moisture  from  the  vessels  and  from  the  solid  parts 
in  general  ;  so  that  digestion  will  be  a  process  towards 
corporeality  ;  but  the  theory  that  it  is  fmcr  is  not  con- 
\  incing. 

Moreover,  the  ra[)itlity   of   its    digLsiion    is    n)iiirai\-   to 
reason  ;    for    the    exhalation    follows   immediately  on    the 
inhalation.      What    then    is    the    agent   which    so    quickly  10 
changes  and  moilifies  it? 

W'c  must  naturally  suppose  that  it  is  the  warmth  of  the 
boiiy,  aiul  the  evidence  of  sense  supports  this,  fi»r  the  air 
when  exhaled  is  warm. 

Again,  if  the  substance  which  is  digested  is  in  the  lungs 
and  the  wind-pipe,  the  active  warmth  must  also  reside 
there:  but  the  common  view  is  that  it  is  not  so,  but  that 
the  nutriment  is  evaporated  b)'  the  motion  of  the  breath.-' 

It  is  still  more  astonishing  if  the  breath  in  jirocess  of  15 
digestion  attracts  the  warmth  to  itself  or  receives  it  because 
some  other  agent  sets  it  in  motion  ;  moreover,  on  this  theory 
it  is  not  in  itself  the  primary  moving  cause.^ 

Then  again,  respiration  extends  as  far  as  the  lungs  only, 
as  the  followers  of  Aristogenes  themselves  state  ;  but  the 
natural  breath  is  distributed  throughout  the  whole  bod\'. 
If  it  is  from  the  lungs  '  that  the  breath  is  distributed  to 
.ill  parts  of  the  body,  incluiling  those  lower  than  the  lungs.  .0 
how  can  the  process  of  its  digestion  be  so  rapid  ?  1  his 
is  more  remarkable  and  involves  a  greater  difficulty  ;  for 
the  lungs  ■'  cannot  distribute  the  air  to  the  lower  parts 
during  the  actual  process  of  its  digestion.  And  yet  to 
some  extent  it  would  seem  that  this  must  be  the  case, 
if  the  digestion  takes  pl.ice  in  the  lungs,  and  the  lower 
parts  also  are  affected  by  the  respiration. 

'   Lines  58  seem  to  be  out  of  pi.icc :  they  shouiil,  jhulij'-',  i.i>im 

'  Kc.i<Iinjf  niT.;  f(»r  nlrW,  .nnd  '  '  r  ' -r,i  in  1.6.  If  otrör  is  read, 
it  must  refer  to  the  .iir,  whiuli  is  Ic. 

'  Here,  perh.ips.  wc  should  .iJ..  ....^..  -i   a6  (/'«/'."  ■    ' ''"'  '»>••.. m- 

clusion  .  .  .  cont.ict '. 

*  Which  WAS  assumed  in  •'2  :  »«'«■*«  ...  iir'  aiTol, 

•  I  take  Toinov  (I.  19),  ToiTo  (I.  33),  to  refer  to  the  lungs, 

B  a 


481''  DE    SPIRITU 

25  1  But  the  conclusion  in  this  case  is  still  more  remarkable 
and  important — namely  that  the  digestion  is  effected,  as  it 
were,  entirely  by  transit  and  contact. 

This  also  is  unreasonable,  and  still  more  untenable,^ 
since  it  assumes  that  the  same  account  can  be  given  of 
the  nutriment  and  the  excretions  ;  "  while  if  we  assume 
that  digestion  is  effected  by  any  of  the  other  internal  parts, 

30  the  objections  already  stated  will  apply :    unless  we  were 

to  assume  that  excrement  is  not  formed  from  all  nutriment, 

482^  nor  in  all  animals,  any  more  than  in  plants,  for  we  cannot 

find  it  in  every  one  of  the  bodily  parts,  or  even  if  we  do, 

at  least  not  in  all  animals.^ 

But  according  to  this  view  the  vessels  grow  just  like  the 
other  parts,  and  as  they  become  broadened  and  distended, 
5  the  volume  of  air  which  flows  in  and  out  is  increased  :  and 
if  there  must  inevitably  be  some  air  contained  in  them, 
the  actual  question  which  we  are  now  asking,^  '  What  is 
the  air  which  naturally  exists  in  them  ;  and  how  does  this 
increase  under  healthy  conditions  ?  '  will  be  obvious  from 
the  preceding  statement. 

How  is  the  natural  breath  nourished  and  developed  in 
the  case  of  creatures  which  have  not  respiration  ?  For  in 
their  case  the  nutriment  can  no  longer  come  from  without. 
If  in  the  former  case  it  was  from  forces  within,  and  from 
the  common  nutriment  of  the  body,  it  is  reasonable  to  say 

10  that  the  same  is  true  in  their  case  also,  for  similar  effects 
come  in  like  manner  from  the  same  causes — unless  really 
in  the  case  of  these  creatures  too  it  is  from  without,  like 
their  perception  of  smell  ;  but  then  they  must  have  some 
process  similar  to  respiration.*^ 

Under  this  head  we  might  raise  the  question  whether 
such  creatures  can  truly  be  called  non-respiratory — point- 
ing to  this  argument  and  also  to  the  way  in  which  they 

15  take  in  nutriment ;  for  we  should  say  that  they  must  draw 

^  This  seems  to  be  out  of  place.     Cf.  supra,  1.  14. 

^  Reading  Xoyobeearfpov  and  \6yos. 

^  i.  e.  that  the  nutriment  of  the  lower  parts  is  really  a  TrepiTTuifia. 

*  Keeping  the  reading  of  the  MSS.  el  3e  /x//,  ovti  ye  navTÖi. 

^  Reading  tovto  avro  {0}  (rjTe'iTai,  riff  6  (pvaiKos  icai  ktX.   (\V.  D.  R.}. 

*^  Keeping  ovtcos  ye,  with  Z. 


rilAl'II.R  2  48a* 

ill  some  breath  ;it  the  .same  time;  ami  wc  should  fmthcr 
urge  that  they  must  respire  for  the  sake  of  refrij^eration, 
which  they  muht  require  just  as  other  creatures  do. 

lUit  if  in  their  case  the  rcfrigeiation  takes  pkjcc  throujjh 
the  iliaphraijm,  it  is  clear  that  tlie  entry  of  the  air  must 
also  be  by  the  same  passage  ;  so  that  there  is  some  process 
similar  to  respiration. 

Hut   it  cannot   be   delciniineil   how   or    b)-    \\  hat  agency 
the  air  is  drawn  in  ;  or  if  there  is  a  drawing  in,  how  the 
entry  takes  place  — unless,  indeed,  it  is  spontaneous.     This  jo 
is  a  subject  for  separate  invcstigalit)n. 

Hut  how  is  the  natural  breath  nourished  and  increaseil 
in  the  case  of  creatures  that  live  in  the  water?  Apart  from 
their  inability  to  respire,  we  say  further  that  air  cannot 
exist  in  water:  so  it  only  remains  to  say  that  in  their  case 
it  is  !)>•  means  of  the  food  :  and  so  either  all  creatures  arc 
not  uniform  in  their  methods,  or  else  in  the  case  of  the 
others  also  '  it  is  by  means  of  the  food.  Such  are  the  J5 
three  possible  theories,  of  which  Diie  must  be  right.  So 
much,  then,  as  regards  the  nulrititjn  and  growth  of  the 
breath. 

3  With  reganl  to  respiration,  some  philosophers — such  as 
I*'nn)edocIes  and  Democritus  do  not  tleal  with  its  pur|)ose, 
but  only  describe  the  process;  others  do  not  even  deal  30 
with  the  process  at  all,  but  assume  it  as  obvious.  Hut 
we  ought  further  to  make  it  (juite  clear  whether  its  purpose 
is  refrigeration.  For  if  the  bodily  heat  is  inherent  in  the 
upper  parts,  it  follows  that  the  lower  parts  would  have 
no  need  of  refrigeration  :  "^  but  the  heat  is  not  in  the  upper 
parts  only,  for  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  innate  breath  per- 
vades the  whole  body,  and  its  origin  is  from  the  lungs. 

The   in>pired    breath  also  is  thought  to  be  distributed 
uniformly  over  all  parts,  so  that  it  remains  to  Ik-  proved  35 
that  this  is  not  the  c.isc.^ 

.\gain,  it   is  strange   if  the  lower  parts  do   nut  ret^^uirc 

'  (Emitting  Td  «Ki'ypn  •35.     Cf.  Ihc  I..nin  imnsbtion. 

'   Read  01«  Ar  «n  ^*otro  (ni)  »arm.     Cf.  the  Latin  IrAnslalion. 

'  i.  c.  that  the  lower  parts  re<iiiirc  no  refrigeration. 


482"  DE  SPIRITU 

some  motive  force  and,  as  it  were,  some  nutriment.  And  ^ 
it  is  strange  that  it  should  no  longer  be  for  the  sake  of 
refrigeration,  if  it  does  pervade  the  whole. 

Further,  the  process  of  the  breath's  distribution  in 
general  is  imperceptible,  and  so  is  its  speed  ;  and  again, 
the  matter  of  its  counter-flow,  if,  as  assumed,  it  is  from  all 
parts,  is  remarkable,  unless  it  flows  back  from  the  most 
5  remote  parts  in  some  different  way,  while  in  its  proper  and 
primary  sense  the  action  takes  place  from  the  regions 
about  the  heart. 

In  many  instances  such  a  want  of  symmetry  in  functions 
and  faculties  may  be  observed. 

However,  it  is  at  any  rate^  strange  if  breath  is  dis- 
tributed even  into  the  bones — for  they  say  that  this  is  the 
case,  and  that  it  passes  there  from  the  air-ducts.  Therefore, 
as  I  have  shown,  we  must  consider  the  respiration — its  pur- 
pose, and  the  parts  which  it  affects,  and  how  it  affects  them. 
10  Again,  it  appears  ^  that  nutriment  is  not  carried  by  the  air- 
ducts  to  all  parts,  for  instance  to  the  vessels  themselves 
and  certain  other  parts ;  but  nevertheless  plants,  which 
have  not  air-ducts,  live  and  receive  nourishment.'^  This 
question  belongs  rather  to  a  treatise  on  methods  of 
nutrition. 

Whereas  there  are  three  motions  belonging  to  the  breath  4 
15  in  the  windpipe — respiration,  pulsation,  and  a  third  which 
introduces  and  assimilates  the  nutriment — we  must  define 
how  and  where  and  for  what  purpose  each  takes  place. 

Of  these,  the  motion  of  the  pulse  is  perceptible  by  the 
senses  wherever  we  touch  the  body.  That  of  the  respira- 
tion is  perceptible  up  to  a  certain  point,  but  is  recognized 
20  in  the  majority  of  parts  by  a  reasoning  process.  That  of 
nutrition  is  in  practically  all  parts  determinable  by  reason- 
ing, but  by  sense  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  observed  from  its 
results. 

Now  clearly  the  respiration  has  its  motive  principle  from 
the  inward  parts,  whether  we  ought  to  call  this  principle 

^  Understand  {"itottov  el)  ovKeri  .  .  .  e'li],  rejecting  Jaeger's  emendation 
ovK  {«!')  en.  '^   Read  yovv  for  ovv. 

^  Reading  ^.iiVerat.  *  Rejecting  Jaeger's  (wj-Trep). 


CHArTF.R  4  48a'' 

a  power  of  the  soul,  the  soul,  or  some  other  combination 
of  bodies  which  throuj^h  tlicir  agency  causes  this  attraction  ; 
and  the  nutritive  facult)-  wouUl  seem  to  be  caused  by  the  J5 
respiration,  for  the  respiration  C')rresp<)nds  to  it,  and  is  in 
reality  similar  to  it.  And  to  discover  whether  the  whole 
body  is  not  equable '  with  rc^'ard  to  the  time  taken  by 
such  motion,  or  whether  there  is  no  difl'erence  as  t"  its 
simultaneity,  wc  must  consider  all  the  parts. 

The  pulse  is  something  peculiar  and  distinct  from  the 
other  motions  and  in  some  respects  may  be  seen  to  be 
contingent,  assuming;  that  when  there  is  an  excess  of  30 
warmth  in  a  fluid,  that  fluid  which  is  evaporated  must  set 
up  a  pulsation  owin^  Ui  the  air  being  intercepted  in  the 
interior,  and  pulsation  must  arise  in  the  originating  part 
an(.l  in  the  earliest  stage,  since  it  is  inhom  in  the  earliest 
parts.  For  it  arises  firstly  ami  in  the  greatest  degree  in 
the  heart,  and  thence  extends  to  the  other  parts.  Perhaps 
this  must  be  an  inseparable  consequence  of  the  essential  35 
nature  underl)ing  the  living  creature,  which  is  manifestetl 
when  the  creature  is  in  a  condition  of  activit\-. 

That  the  pulse  has  no  connexion  with  the  respiration 
is  shown  b)'  the  following  indication  -whether  one  breathes  483* 
quickly  or  regularly,  violently  or  gently,-  the  pulse  remains 
the  same  and  unchanged,  but  it  becomes  irregular  and 
spasmodic  owing  to  certain  bodil)'  affections  and  in  con- 
sequence of  fear,  hope,  ami  anguish  affecting  the  soul. 

Next  we  ought  t<»  consider  whether  the  pidsc  occurs  also  5 
in  the  artcrie-s  and  with  the  same  rhythm  and  regularity* 
This  does  not  appear  to  be  so  in  the  case  of  parts  widely 
separated,  anil,*  as   has  been   noted,  it  seems  to  serve  no 
pur|X)se  whatsoever. 

For,  on  the  other  hand,  the  respiration  and  reception  of 
food,  whether  they  are  regarded  as  (juite  independent  or  10 
as   correlated,  clearly  exist   for  a   purpose,  and  admit   of 
rational  explanation. 

'  Omit  comma  after  ^9  and  fuU  stop  aflcr  urttrtp. 
'  Reading  TT/xlof. 

*  Heading  «ni  <>  iiiT<'<f  i>f  >>i<'^j>  »«i  ö^oXoi,  ontwrtor. 

*  There  is  no  passage  in  the  present  trcatiK:  to  which  ihcs«  word« 
can  refer. 


483^  DE  SPIRITU 

And  of  the  three,  we  may  reasonably  say  that  the 
pulsatory  and  respiratory  motions  are  prior'  to  the  other, 
for  nutrition  assumes  their  pre-existence.  Or  is  this  not 
so  ?  for  respiration  begins  when  the  young  is  separated 
from  the  mother  ;  the  reception  of  nutriment,  and  nutrition, 
both  while  the  embryo  is  forming  and  after  it  is  formed ; 
but  the  pulsation  at  the  earliest  stage,  as  soon  as  the  heart 
15  begins  to  form,  as  is  evident  in  the  case  of  eggs.  So  the 
pulse  comes  first,  and  resembles  an  activity  and  not  an  in- 
terception of  the  breath,  unless  that  also  can  conduce 
towards  its  activity. 

They  say  that  the  breath  which  is  respired  is  carried  5 
into  the  belly,  not  through  the  gullet — that  is  impossible — 

20  but  there  is  a  duct  along  the  loins  through  which  the 
breath  is  carried  by  the  respiration  from  the  trachea  into 
the  belly  and  out  again :  and  this  can  be  perceived  by  the 
sense. 

The  question  of  this  perception  raises  a  difficulty :  for  if 
the  windpipe  alone  has  perception,  does  it  perceive  by 
means  of  the  wind  which  passes  through  it,  or  by  its  bulk 

25  or  by  its  bodily  constitution  ?  Or  if  the  air  comes  first 
below  soul,  may  it  perceive  by  means  of  this  air  which  is 
superior  and  prior  in  origin  ? 

What  then  is  the  soul  ?  They  make  it  out  to  be  a 
potentiality  which  is  the  cause  of  such  a  motion  as  this. 
Or  is  it  clear  that  you  will  not  be  right  in  impugning  those 
who  say  it  is  the  rational  and  spirited  faculty?  for  they 
too  refer  to  these  as  potentialities. 

30  But  if  the  soul  resides  in  this  air,  the  air  is  at  any  rate 
a  neutral  substance.  Surely,  if  it  becomes  animate  or 
becomes  soul,  it  suffers  some  change  and  alteration,  and 
so  naturally  moves  towards  what  is  akin  to  it,  and  like 
grows  by  the  addition  of  like.  Or  is  it  otherwise  ?  for  it 
may  be  contended  that  the  air  is  not  the  whole  of  soul 
but  is  something  which  contributes  to  this  potentiality  or 

35  in  this  sense  makes  it,^  and  that  which  has  made  it  is  its 
principle  and  foundation. 

^    Reading  arjp,  rj  ovrai  TavTr]v  Troiovv. 


CHArTl-K  5  483* 

In  the  case  of  non-rc.spirin<j  creatures.'  where  the  internal 
air  is  not  mixed  w  ith  the  external — or  is  this  not  the  case, 
is  it  rather  mixed  in  some  other  way  than  by  respiration  ? — 
what  is  the  (.hfferencc  between  tlie  air  in  the  air-duct  and 
the  outside  air?  It  is  reasonable  -  perhaps  inevitable — to 
suppose  that  the  former  surpasses  the  latter  in  fineness. 

A^ain,  is  it  warm  by  its  inherent  nature  or  by  the 
inlluence  of  somethinj^  else?  For  it  seems  that  the  inner  5 
air  is  just  like  the  outer,  but  it  is  helped^  by  the  cooling. 
Hut  which  is  realh'  the  case?  for  wlun  outside  it  is  soft, 
but  when  enclosed  the  air  becomes  breath,  bcini;  as  it  were 
condensed  aiul  in  some  manner  distributed  throu;^h  the 
vessels.  Ol  must  it  be  mixed  in  some  way,  when  it  moves 
about  in  the  lluids,  and  among  the  solid  particles  of  the 
bod\?  It  is  not,  therefore,  the  rtnest  of  substances,  if  it 
is  mixed.  W'c  may,  however,  reasonably  exjject  that  the  10 
substance  which  is  first  capable  of  receiving  soul  should  be 
the  finest,  unless,  indeed,  soul  is  something  such  as  has 
been  described,  i.  c.  something  not  pure  nor  unmixed  :  and  ' 
that  the  air-duct  shoukl  be  cajiablc  of  receiving  the  breath, 
while  the  sinew  is  not. 

There  is  this  difference  too,  that  the  sinew  is  tensibic, 
but  the  air-duct  is  easily  broken,  just  like  a  vein. 

The    skin    contains    veins,    sinews,   ami   air-ducts — veins  15 
because  when  pricked  it  exudes  blood,  sinews  because  it  is 
elastic,  air-tlucts  because  air   is   breathed   through   it-- for 
only  an  air- duct  can  admit  air. 

The  veins  must  have  pores  in  which  *  resides  the  bodily 
heat  which  heats  the  blood  as  if  in  a  caldron  ;  for  it  is  not  }o 


'  483*'  I.     .SubstitiHing  .•»  clash  for  thr  full  «»'»p  .iftrr  ;^«  (W.  D.  R.I. 
This  seems  to  be  the  only  way  of  tri  •  aid. 

The  relative  use  of  ifit   is  found   1  In 

Honitz'  Index  thr  only  inst.-in<  < 
and  iva  in  .1  quot.ition  from   1 
<>I7*I4;   but  as  cxaii     '  :    «-])■  r.i    ;  .1  i)  w  r.i  u.f  tun.   .-i    .......  • 

to  that  of  Lucian.  the  -n  must  at  any  rate  have  »Kren  |>oMihle 

to  the  author  of  the  <>f  .'/'•■'•  , 

'  .-\pparently  an  echo  of  «iV-  AV^/.  AJA^^A,  «here  ««rrii^f«  'help« 
jr,w  rni-rtfy  Tij»  «/>ö..^ii',  i.e.  is  a  safeguard  against  deslru«  tion  '>v  excess 

of  $tpfli'nf. 

'  T'l"  (Ä*)  tifntfoiay.     *^'<   twrh.ii.,    tlic  I-ilin  translatiotv 
*  Reading  «V  1  ir. 


483^  DE   SPIRITU 

hot  by  nature,  but  is  diffused  like  molten  metals,  p  For 
this  reason  too  the  air-duct  becomes  hardened,  and  has 
moisture  both  in  itself  and  in  the  coats  which  surround  its 
hollow  passage.^] 

^  It  is  also  proved  both  by  dissection  and  by  the  fact 
that  the  veins  and  air-ducts,  which  apparently  conduct  the 

25  nutriment,  connect  with  the  intestines  and  the  belly. 
From  the  veins  the  nutriment  is  distributed  to  the  flesh 
—  not  sideways  from  the  veins  but  out  at  their  mouths,  as 
it  were  through  pipes.     For  fine  veins  run  sideways^  from 

30  the  great  vein  and  the  windpipe  along  each  rib,  and  a  vein 
and  an  air-duct  always  run  side  by  side."^ 

The  sinews  and  veins  form  the  connexion  between  the 
bones,  joining  them  with  the  centre  of  the  body,  and  also 
form  the  meeting-place  ^  between  the  head  and  the  body, 
through  which   fishes  receive   nutriment   and  breathe ;    if 

35  they  did  not  respire,  they  would  die  immediately  on  being 
taken  out  of  the  water. 
484^  But  it  is  plain  even  from  observations  of  sense  that  the 
veins  and  air-ducts  connect  with  each  other  ;  but  this  would 
not  occur  if  the  moisture  did  not  require  breath  and  the 
breath  moisture, — because  there  is  warmth  both  in  sinew, 
in  air-duct,  and  in  vein,  and  that  which  is  in  the  sinew  is 
5  hottest  and  most  similar  to  that  of  the  veins.  Now  the 
heat  seems  unsuited  to  the  space  where  the  breath  is 
located,  especially  with  a  view  to  refrigeration :  but  if  the 
animal  produces  and  as  it  were  re-kindles  the  heat  by  heat 
from  without,  then  there  may  well  be  heat  there.  Besides 
this,  permanence  is  in  a  sense  natural  to  all  things  which 
have  warmth,  provided  that  nothing  resists  or  cools  it ;  ^ 

10  for  that  all  things  require  refrigeration  is  practically  proved 
by  the  fact  that  the  blood  retains  its  heat  in  the  veins  and 
as  it  were  shelters  it  there ;  so  when  the  blood  has  flowed 

^  This  passage  seems  to  be  out  of  place. 

-  Here  again  there  seems  to  be  a  dislocation,  for  it  is  not  clear  what 
is  proved  by  dissection. 

^  Omitting  (pXfßai'. 

*  Cf.  the  account  of  the  veins  in  H.  A.  513^29. 

^  L.  and  S.  '  The  sutures  of  the  skull ',  which  is  absurd  ;  Lat.  trans, 
'magnum  capitis  os'. 

®  Reading  dv^lvröv  ttcos  .  .  .  KnTa\lfV)(OPTOs'    OTL  kt\. 


CM  APT  HR  5  484* 

out  it  loses  its  heat,  and  the  crcatun-  die:»,  through  the  Hvcr 
having  no  air-duct.' 

6  I  )ocs  the  seed  pass  throujjh  the  air-duct  ?  Is  its  passage 
due  also  to  pressure,  and  docs  this  take  place  only  in  15 
process  of  emission  ?  ^  Through  this  we  liavc  cviilcnce 
of  the  tran.sformation  of  tlu  blood  into  flesh — ihrouj^h  the 
fact  that  the  sinews  arc  nourished  from  the  bones ;  for 
lluy  join  the  bones  tot;ether.  Or  is  this  not  true?  For 
sinew  is  found  in  the  heart,  and  sinews  arc  attachcil  to  the 
bones:  but  those  in  the  heart  do  not  connect  with  anything 
cl>c.  init  tlicy  end  in  the  flesh.  Or  does  this  amount  to 
nothing,  and  would  those  which  connect  the  Ixmes  be 
nourished  from  the  bones?  Hut  we  mi^ht  say,  that  rather  10 
the  bones  themselves  ^et  their  nutriment  from  the  sinew. 
I'or  this  too  is  strange — since  the  bone  is  dry  by  nature 
and  has  no  ducts  for  fluid  :^  while  the  nutriment  is  fluid. 
Hut  we  must  consider  first,  if  the  nutriment  of  the  sinews 
i>  from  the  bones,  what  is  the  nutriment  of  the  bone.  Do 
the  ducts  carry  it  both  from  the  veins  and  from  the  air- 
duct  into  the  bone  itself?  In  many  parts  these  ducts  '5 
are  visible,  particularly  those  leading  to  the  spine,  and 
those*  leading  from  the  bones  arc  continuous,  e.g.  in 
the  case  of  the  ribs;  but  how  do  we  suppose  that  these 
ducts  lead  from  the  belly,  and  how  docs  the  drawing  of 
the  nutriment  take  place?  ' 

Surely  most  bones  arc  without  cartilage  like  the  spine,  in 
no  way  adapted  to  motion.  Or  are  they  designed  to  form 
connexions?^  And  similarly,  if  bone  is  nüuri>heil  from  30 
sinew,  we  mu.>t  know  the  means  by  which  sinew  is  nouriühcd. 
\Vc  say  that  it  is  from  the  fluid  surrounding  the  sinew, 
which   is  of  a  glutinous  nature  :    but  wc  must  determine 

•  I  take  tills  obscure  p.nss.nfjc  t<i  mein  th  tt  ■'—  '''  ■■'-  •"  •'■'•  '•'^''   " 
niaintainc'i  1)>  the  w  irm'.h  ot   tli--  hrcitl..  th-- 

li%cr   from    the   \fin5.      I  he     i   ■•  '       -  1 ■. 

because  it  has  no  air-t!uct   l<>  'Mh  to  n:  u>  »hen  the 

venous  bl.-oH  w  ,,.,.',.1    •!.,■  lis. 

1  There  iKtwccn  tbi«  and  what  has  gone 

bcforr  :  " 

'  K  ■••         .. 

•  1 1  c  is  out  ol  ,  *ecins  ra'  ng  to  the 

next  chapter,  on  the  purpose»  lor  wbi«.J»  ihc  bone»  i 


484^  DE    SPIRITU 

whence  and  how  this  arises.  To  say  that  the  flesh  is 
nourished  from  vein  and  air-duct,  on  the  ground  that  blood 
comes  from  any  point  where  you  prick  it,  is  false  in  the 
35  case  of  the  other  ^  animals,  e.  g.  birds,  snakes,  and  fishes, 
and  oviparous  creatures  in  general.  The  universal  dis- 
persion of  the  blood  is  a  peculiarity  of  creatures  with  a 
large  blood-supply :  for  e.  g.  even  when  a  small  bird's 
breast  is  cut,  not  blood  but  serum  flows. 

Empedocles  says  that  nail  is  formed  from  sinew  by  a 
484^  hardening  process.  Is  the  same  true  of  skin  in  relation  to 
flesh  ? 

But  how  can  hard  and  soft-shelled  creatures  get  their 
nutriment  from  outside?  On  the  contrary  it  seems  that 
they  get  it  from  inside  rather  than  out.  Again,  how  and 
5  by  what  course  does  the  passage  of  foods  from  the  belly 
take  place,  and  again  their  return  into  the  form  of  flesh, 
unaccountable  as  it  is?  For  this  process  seems  extra- 
ordinary and  absolutely  impossible. 

Do  different  things,  then,  have  different  nutriment,  not 
all  things  being  nourished  by  the  blood  except  indirectly  ? 

We  must  then  consider  the  nature  of  bone,  whether  it  7 
10  exists  with  a  view  to   motion  or  to   support,  or  covering 
and  surrounding,  and  further,  whether  some  bones  are  as 
it  were  originators  of  motion,  like  the  axis  of  the  uni- 
verse.^ 

By  motion  I  mean,  e.  g.  that  of  the  foot,  the  hand,  the 
leg,  or  the  elbow,  both  the  bending  motion  and  motion 
from  place  to  place — for  the  latter  cannot  take  place  either 
without  the  bending,  and  usually  the  supporting  functions 
belong  to  these  same  bones.  And  by  covering  and  sur- 
15  rounding  I  mean  as  e.g.  the  bones  in  the  head  surround 
the  brain  ;  and  those  who  make  the  marrow  the  originator 


'  i.  e.  other  than  mammals. 

^  The  motion  of  the  circumference  presupposes  the  fixity  of  the 
axis,  and  he  is  thinking  of  the  spine,  which  can  originate  motion 
while  itself  unmoved.  Cf.  the  account  of  the  yiyyXvfins  in  de  An.  iii.  10. 
For  TToXoy  =  axis,  cf.  Plato,  Thit.  40  B,  quoted  in  de  Caelo,  239*^  30. 
Hesychius  mentions  ttoXos  =  the  crown  of  the  head,  which  may  be 
due  to  a  misunderstanding  of  the  present  passage. 


CIIAPTl.R   7  484'' 

of  motion  lrc.it  the  bones  as  primarily  meant  to  protect  it.' 
The  ribs  are  for  the  piir|)oac  of  locking  together  ;  the 
ori^'inator  of  motion,  itself  immova!>le,  is  the  spine,  from 
which  spring  the  ribs  fur  the  purpose  of  locking  the  body 
together  :  for  there  must  be  something  of  this  kind,  since 
everything  that  is  in  motion  depends  on  something  that 
i"^  in  a  state  of  rest. 

At  the  same  time  a  fin.il  cause  must  exist — under  which  to 
head  some  class  the  originator  of  motion  ;  i.  e.  the  spinal 
marrow  and  the  brain. 

Hesidcs  these  there  are  others  which  are  at  a  joining* and 
whose  purpose  is  locking  together,  c.  g.  the  collar-bone, 
which  perhaps  is  named  the  '  key-bone  '  from  its  functions. 
Jlvcr)'  one  is  well  adapted  for  its  purjjose.  for  there  could 
be  no  flexion  either  of  whole  or  parts,  if  the  parts  were 
not  such  as  they  arc:  e.g.  the  spine,  foot,  and  elbow:  for  »5 
the  bending  of  the  elbow  must  be  inwards  to  serve  our 
purpose.  Similarly  tiie  bending  of  the  foot  and  the  other 
parts  must  be  such  as  it  is.  All  exist  for  a  purpose,  and 
so  do  the  smaller  bones  contained  in  these  larger  ones — 
e.g.  the  radius  in  the  fore-arnj  to  enable  us  to  twist  the 
fore-arm  and  the  hand  ;  for  we  shouKl  not  be  able  to  turn  30 
the  palm  tlown  or  up  nor  lift  nor  bend  the  feet  if  there 
were  not  the  two  radii  ^  which  are  used  in  these  motions. 
Similarly  we  must  investigate  the  other  details,  c.  g.  whether 
the  motion  of  the  neck  is  due  to  only  one  bone  or  more. 
Also  we  must  examine  all  that  are  for  the  purpose  of 
gripping  or  knitting  together,  e.g.  the  patella  over  the 
knee  ;  and  why  other  parts  have  no  such  bone. 

Now  all  parts  which  are  capable  of  motion  are  connected  J5 
with  sinews — and  perhaps  those  concerned  with  action  in 
a  positive  way*  are  especially  so  -thus  we  find  sinews  in 
the  elbow,  the  legs,  the  hands,  and  the  feet;  the  other 
sinews  are  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  together  all  those 
bones  w  hich  require  fastening  ;    for  perhaps  some,  c.  g.  the 

'  cf.  ri.ito,  7////.  73  n.  *  1; 

'  i.e.  what  wc  c.iJI  the  /./</.;/ f  \n  ;!.r  .1: 

T^ifit,  an  action  jxitcnti  .ch 

.irc  involunt.iry,  or  connote  nu  '  uK>i<ti '  ini|>ulac  ai  aU. 


485^  DE   SPIRITU 

spine,  have  little  or  no  function  except  that  of  bending,^ 
for  the  substance  which  connects  the  vertebrae  is  a  serum 
or  mucous  fluid  ;  others  are  bound  together  by  sinews — 
thus  we  find  sinews  in  the  joints  of  the  Hmbs. 

The  best  description  of  everything  may  be  obtained  by  8 
an  investigation  hke  the  present  ^ ;  but  we  must  adequately 

6  investigate  the  final  causes.  We  must  not  suppose  that 
the  bones  are  for  the  sake  of  movement ;  that  is  rather 
the  purpose  of  the  sinews  or  what  corresponds  to  them, 
viz.  the  immediate  receptacle  of  the  breath  which  causes 
motion,  since  even  the  belly  moves  and  the  heart  has 
sinews — but  only  some,  not  all  parts  have  bones :  every 
part   must   have  sinews   appropriate  for   performing  such 

10  motion  or  for^  (performing  it  well.)  For  the  cuttle-fish 
walks  little  and  walks  badly.  We  must  take  as  a  starting- 
point  the  fact  that  all  animals  have  different  organs  for 
different  purposes  with  a  view  to  the  peculiar  motion  of 
each,  e.  g.  terrestrial  animals  have  feet— those  that  are 
upright  having  two;  others  which  move  altogether  upon 
the  earth,  the  material  of  whose  bodies  is  more  earthy 
and  colder,  have  several. 

15  Some  creatures  again  may  be  entirely  without  feet,*  for 
it  is  possible  for  them  under  these  conditions  to  be  moved 
only  by  external  force.  Similarly,  flying  creatures  have 
wings,  and  their  shape  is  appropriate  to  their  nature. 
The  parts  differ  in  proportion  as  they  are  to  fly  faster 
or  slower.  They  have  feet  for  the  purpose  of  seeking 
food  and  to  enable  them  to  stand  ;  bats  are  an  exception  ; 
as  they  cannot  use  their  feet,  they  get  their  food  in  the 

20  air,  and  do  not  need  to  rest  for  the  purpose ;  for  they 
certainly  do  not  need  to  do  so  for  any  other  reason.^ 

The  hard-shelled  aquatic  animals  have  feet  on  account 

^  Read  aXX'  j)  KÜß-ij/is.  "  i.  e.  physiological. 

^  There  is  a  lacuna  in  the  MSS.  which  has  not  been  satisfactorily 
filled.  My  conj.  to  (^eu)  is  not  quite  suitable,  but  is  suggested  by  kukcüs 
offoll.  line.     Didot  reads  t6  (^ßa8[^€iv). 

■*  (y)(_CL>pei,  sc.  eivai. 

^  Reading  ov  Seovrai  yap  8i]  liWcos.  For  the  feet  of  bats  cf.  de  Inc. 
An.  714^  io-i3>  Hist.  An,  487^23.  Bats  do  not  need  to  rest,  because 
animals  with  bad  feet  usually  have  good  wings.  Hist.  An.  487'' 26. 


CHAPTKR  8  485' 

ot  tlicir  ut  it^ht  ;  thus  th<  y  arc  enabled  to  move  from  pl.icc 
to  place:  all  that  concerns  their  other  needs  is  as  ordered 
by  the  individual  requirements  of  each,  even  if  the  principle 
is  not  clear — c.  g.  why  many-footed  creatures  are  the 
slowest,  and  yet  quadrupeds  arc  swifter  than  bipeds.  Is  J5 
it  because  the  whole  of  their  body  is  on  the  ground  or 
because  they  arc  naturally  cold  and  hard  to  move,  or  for 
some  other  reason  ? 

9      W  c  cannot  agree  with  those  who  say  that  it  is  not  the 
heat-principle  which   is  active  in  bodies,  or  that   fire  has 
only  one  kind  of  motion  and  one  power — the  power  to 
cleave.     For  in  the  case  of  inanimate  things  the  action  of  30 
fire  is  not  universally '  the  same  on  all-  some  it  condenses, 
others  it  rarefies;  some  it  dissolves,  others  it  hardens  ;  and 
so  we  must  suppose  that   in  the  case  of  animate  creatures 
the  same  results  are  found,  and  we  must  investigate  the  fire 
(if  nature  by  comparing  her  processes  to  those  of  an  art ; 
for  different  results  are  achieved  by  fire  in  the  work  of  the 
goldsmith,  the  coppersmith,  the  carpenter,  and  the  cook —  35 
though,  perhaps,  it  is  truer  to  say  that  the  arts  themselves  485** 
achieve  these  different  results,  for  that  by  using  fire  as  an 
instrument  they  soften,   liquef\-,  and  doiLC.ite  sub-<t.«.nccs, 
and  some  the)"  temper. 

Individual  natures  work  in  the  same  way,  and  so  they 
differ  one  from  another;  so  that  it  is  ridiculous  to  judge  by 
externals;  for  whether  we  regard  the  heat  as  separating  or 
refining,  or  whatever  the  effect  of  warming  or  burning  is,  5 
the  results  will  be  different  according  to  the  different 
natures  of  the  agencies  which  employ  it.  Hut  while  the 
crafts  use  the  fire  merely  as  an  instrument,  nature  uses  it 
as  a  matcri.d  as  well. 

Certainly  no  ditficulty  is  involved  in  this  ;  but  rather  it 
is  remarkable  that  nature,  who  employs  the  instrument,  is 
herself  an  intelligent  agent,  who  will  assign  to  objects  their 
proper  symmetry  together  with  the  visible  ciVccts  of  her 
action :  for  this  is  no  longer  a  function  cither  of  fire  or  of  •<> 
breath,    so    it    is    remarkable   that   \vc    should    find    «uch 

I  Reading  a\«#c. 


485^  DE   SPIRITU 

a  faculty  combined  with  these  two  bodies.  Again,  with 
regard  to  soul  we  find  the  same  cause  of  wonder,  for  it 
must  be  assumed  in  the  functions  of  these  two,  and  there- 
fore there  is  some  sense  in  referring  to  the  same  agent — 
either  generally  or  to  some  particular  creative  part — the 
fact  that  its  motion  always  operates  ^  in  the  same  way  ;  for 
nature,  from  which  they  are  generated,  is  always  constant. 

15  But  now  what  variation  can  there  be  in  individual  heat, 
whether  we  regard  it  as  an  instrument  or  material,  or  both  ? 
The  variations  in  fire  are  simply  quantitative ;  but  this  is 
practically  a  question  of  whether  it  is  mixed  with  other 
substances  or  unmixed,  for  the  purer  substance  has  the 
proper  qualities  of  its  kind  in  a  higher  degree. 

The  same  statement  applies  in  the   case   of   all    other 

20  simple  things ;  for  whereas  there  is  a  difference  between 
the  bone  and  flesh  of  a  horse  and  those  of  an  ox,'-^  this  must 
be  the  case  either  because  they  are  produced  from  different 
materials,  or  because  the  materials  are  used  differently. 
Now  if  they  are  different^  what  are  the  distinctive  character- 
istics of  each  of  the  simple  things  and  what  is  .  .  .  ?  for  it 
is  these  that  we  are  seeking. 

But  if  they  are  the  same  in  nature,  they  may  be  different 
in   their  proportions :    for  one  or  the  other  must  be  the 

25  case — as  holds  good  with  other  things — for  the  con- 
sistencies of  wine  and  honey  are  different  on  account  of  the 
difference  of  substance ;  difference  in  wine  itself,  if  there  is 
any,  is  a  matter  of  proportion. 

And  .so  Empedocles^  stated  the  nature  of  bone  too 
simply;  for,  on  the  supposition  that  all  bones  follow  the 
same  proportion  in  the  mixture  of  elements,  the  bones  of 
a  lion,  a  horse,  and  a  man  ought  to  be  indistinguishable ; 
whereas   they   actually   differ   in    hardness    and    softness, 

30  density,  and  other  qualities.  Similarly  *  with  the  flesh  and 
other  parts  of  the  body. 

Further,  the  various  parts  in  the  same  creature  differ  in 
density  and   rarity,    and    in   other  qualities,  so   that    the 

^  Reading  ei'efjyaav.  "  Reading  fj  ittttov  koi  fj  ßn6s. 

^  Reading  'E.  Xinp  cnrXms  .  .  .  (pixTii',  (^fTreiy  €i',Tf/j  kt\.  (W.  D.  R.)  : 
cf.  Meteor.  339''  34,  365^^  26. 
^  Reading  a  colon  after  aWoi'i, 


CHAPTl.R  9  485* 

blcrHÜn.;  of  their  constituents  cannot  be  identical  ;  for, 
i^rantcd  tluit  coarseness  and  fineness,  greatness  and  sinall- 
ness  are  quantitative  diflerenccs,  hardness,  density,  and 
their  oi>i)osites  certainly  ilepeiul  on  the  (luaiit.itive  nature  35 
of  the  mixing.  Hut  those  who  «^ive  tiiis  account  of  it  niu>l 
know  how  the  creative  element  can  vary,  by  excess  or  486* 
deficicnc)',  by  beini;  in  ist)lation  or  in  combination  or  heated 
in  sometiiing  else,  like  food  tl>at  is  boiled  or  baked, — which 
last  is  perhaps  the  true  explanation  ;  for  in  the  process  of 
mixing  it  produces  the  effect  designed  by  nature. 

So  I  suppose  we  must  give  the  same  account  of  tlesh  ;  486** 
for  the  variations  arc  the  same  ;  and  practically  the  same 
observations  apply  to  the  veins  and  air-ducts  and  the  rest ; 
so  that,  in  conclusion,  cither  the  proportion  observed  in 
their  mixture  is  not  constant,  or  the  defmitions  must  not  be 
statcti  in  terms  of  hardness,  densit)',  and  their  oppositcs. 


IXDI'X 


Air,  affinity  of  tu  .-muh,  4." j-*  rf>  ; 

warm   when    i-xpircd,   4S1''  12  ; 

entry  of,  4S3»  iS  ;  digests  itself, 

4S1M5. 
Air-ducts  or 'Artcrics',4S2'' 8,  ''II, 

4.S3»'i7,»>i8.  »^;5, '•3o,484*i-5, 

=  <ij>T.  rp(i\üii,  481»  22,  4S3» 
=4,  ''3.  ''30. 

=    artery    (?),    483«  5,    '>22, 
484»  14,  •34- 
Aquatic  animals,  4S2'  21,  485'  21, 
Aristogcnes,  481*28,  ''18. 

Hats,  485»  19. 

nelly.483»22,  ''25.  484'28,  485*8. 

Hirds,  484»  35,  4X5'  16. 

HI(X)d,  the  ultimate  nutriment, 
481» 12,  484»  16. 

Hones,  nutriment  of,  Ch.  6  ;  pur- 
pose of,  Ch.  7  ;  difference  of,  in 
man  .ind  various  animals,  485'' 
20.  '»28 ;  4'S'3''3l. 

Hrain,  484'' 16,  '•21. 

Hreath,  481»  i,  »lo,  "29,  *M4,  482» 
33,  *27,  »»14.  4«3'if^'-  *'•  >.  ''18. 
4«4'3. '5.4^'3'7- 

HronchLi,  483*22. 

Carpenter,  485*35. 

Canilage,  parts  without,  484*29. 

Collar-bone,  4S4''22. 

Cook.  485* 35- 

Cop{)cr-smith,  4S5*  35. 

Countcrtlow  (of  breath),  482''  3. 

Cuttle-fish.  485*  to. 

Democritus,  482*30. 
Diaphragm.  482*17. 
Difference,  qualitative  and  quan- 
titative,  examples   of,    485*» 35, 

''33- 
Digestion,  481*  7,  '»2,  ''30,  *»26. 
Dissection,  483*^  24. 

F-lbow,  484*»  35. 

Kmbrjo,  483*  13. 

I'.mpedoclcs,     483*  29.      484*  38, 

4H5*'=6. 
Kxcrement,  481*  19,  "38,  483*  2. 


hxpir.ition,  4-i*2i  ;  ilie<aU!.eof 
pulsation,  482*'  31. 

Fire,  various  functions  of,  485*35 ; 
quantitative  dilTcrcncc  in,  485'» 

.'7- 
Fish,    method    of    breathing    of, 

483''  34  ;   blood  of,  484*  36. 
Flesh,   ditTcrences  of   in   various 

animals,  485''  20. 
Flight,  birds  of  swift,  4S5»  17. 
Foot.  484»»  25,  485' > 3  WV- 
Footless  creatures,  485*  15. 

Goldsmith,  485*24. 
(bullet,  483*  20. 

Hard-shelled     crc.iiurcs,    484''  3, 

48?*2l. 
Head,  junction  of,  with  the  body, 

483'' 33- 
Heart,  482»' 6,  »'33,  485»»  8. 
Heat,    bodily,    481*14,    '•4,   "»13 

5yi^.,  483'' 19,  485*28. 
Honey,  differences  in,  485'' 35. 

Ichor  (serum),  484*38,  485*  I. 
Interception   of    breath,   483'Ml. 

483*17. 
Intestine,  483»' 24. 

Liver,     the,     has     no     air-duct, 

484*12. 
Loins,  483*  2 1 
Lungs,  48« •30i  ''IS,  4^2' 34- 

Many -footed     creatures     move 

slowly,  485*25. 
Marrow.  484'' 16  ;    (Spinal),  484'» 

31. 

Miy^,  the,  481*  19. 

Witiirc  i>  ritional,  485**  5-8. 

ry  creatures,  483*  8, 
40^''  t. 
Nutnment  and  nutn^i'-'r',  481' 9, 

•37,  »^8,  »"30  ;   of  ;*33, 

•31  ;  the  blood,  ,  .''7  : 

passes  through  arte :ic 


INDEX 


ofthe  breath, 482^  27  ;  of  sinews, 
484^  16  ;  organs  indirectly  con- 
nected with,  485^^18. 

Patella,  the,  484''  33. 

Pipes,  483^28. 

Polypus,  the,  walks  badly,  485^  lo. 

Pulse,  the,  a  function  of  the 
breath,  482^5  29,  ^32  ;  prior  to 
other  functions,  483=^  15;  irregu- 
larity of,  483*^3. 

Quadrupeds  are  quicker  than 
bipeds,  485*  25. 

Radius,  the,  484'' 28. 
Refrigeration,  482»'  16,  483^6. 
Respiration— extends  to  the  lungs, 

481'^  18;    its  purpose,  482^^28- 

31  ;  a  function  of  Soul,  482^  22  ; 

influences  the  lower  parts  of  the 

body,  481^24. 


Respiratory  creatures,  483^  12. 
Ribs,  483^30,  484'' 17- 

Semen,  the,  484^  14. 

Sinews,  Ch.  6,  483^  15,  484^5. 

Skin,  483''  15,  484'^  I. 

Smell,  482^  12. 

Soft-shelled  creatures,  484''  2. 

Soul,  483^  26-27,  ^^ii)  482'' 22. 

Spine,  484^26,  =^29,  '^25. 

Tibia,  484^^31. 
Trachea  :  see  Air-ducts. 

Veins,  483^  19,  ^25,  ^30. 
Vessels,  increase  in  size  of,  482*  3. 
Viscous  fluid,  484^38,  4853'  i. 

Water,  contains  no  air,  482*  23. 
Wine,  differences  in,  485^25. 
Wings,  485a'  16. 


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